World English Bible
- The LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is near and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
- Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
- Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, “The LORD will surely separate me from his people.” Do not let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
- For the LORD says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant,
- I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
- Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to serve him, and to love the LORD’s name, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant,
- I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
- The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, in addition to his own who are gathered.”
- All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest.
- His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark— dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
- “Come,” they say, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.”
The World English Bible ends Isaiah 55 with a promise that God’s renewed creation will be an everlasting sign that “will not be cut off.” Then Isaiah 56 lets us hear a person call himself “a dry tree.” The same Hebrew words for not be cut off return in God’s answer to him: “I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.” The landscape has begun to flourish. Now God turns toward someone who cannot imagine flourishing himself.
A eunuch in the ancient world could hold power at court and still lack something his society counted essential: descendants to carry his name. Deuteronomy 23:1 also restricted certain eunuchs from Israel’s assembly. Isaiah does not soften that wound by promising children. God promises a memorial within his own house. In Hebrew, “a memorial and a name” is yad vashem, literally “a hand and a name”—a lasting mark of remembrance. Where others see a broken family line, God gives a place in his presence. His memory will not fail when a human lineage ends.
Notice whom God addresses first: not those who exclude the foreigner and eunuch, but those who have learned to speak exclusion over themselves. “The LORD will surely separate me,” says one; “I am a dry tree,” says the other. God’s welcome reaches beneath the barrier to the shame the barrier has planted.
This is no invitation without a calling. Foreigners and eunuchs are described as loving the Lord, keeping the Sabbath, and holding fast his covenant. Sabbath is especially striking here. One day each week, God’s people cease measuring life by what they can produce. The person without heirs and the person far from home are invited to rest as those who belong.
Then the chapter turns sharply. The watchmen who should protect the people are like dogs unable to bark at danger, though eager enough to call for more wine. Isaiah will not let us separate welcome from faithful leadership. A house opened to the vulnerable must not be left unguarded by shepherds seeking their own comfort.
Jesus quotes Isaiah’s promise of a house of prayer “for all peoples” when he confronts the temple’s misuse (Mark 11:17, World English Bible). In Acts 8:26–39, an Ethiopian official called a eunuch reads Isaiah and asks to be baptized. His question gives this chapter a human face: Is there room for me?
There is. And those entrusted with God’s house must live so that the answer can be heard.
For further reading: Deuteronomy 23:1; Isaiah 55:12–13; Acts 8:26–39. Hymn: “In Christ There Is No East or West.”
Prayer: Lord, silence the names shame has taught us to call ourselves. Give us joy in your house, and make us faithful guardians of your welcome. Amen.