Isaiah 56
1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do righteousness: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Yahweh says [to all the people of Judah], “Do the things that are fair and just, because I will soon come to rescue [DOU] you.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
I will bless those who faithfully obey my laws about the Sabbath/rest days. I will bless those who (keep sacred/honor) my Sabbath/rest days, and who do not do any work on those days, and who refrain from [MTY] doing anything that is evil.
3 Neither let the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD will surely separate me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
And foreigners who have believed in me should not say, ‘Yahweh will surely not allow me to belong to his people.’ And eunuchs should not say, ‘[Because I am unable to have children, I cannot belong to Yahweh]; I am like [MET] a tree that has completely withered.’
4 For thus saith the LORD of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast by my covenant:
They should not say that, because [I], Yahweh, say this to the eunuchs who obey my laws about the Sabbath, and who choose to do the things that please me, and who obey all [the other laws of] the agreement that I [made with the Israeli people]:
5 Unto them will I give in mine 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 shall not be cut off.
I will cause to be put inside the walls of my temple a monument [DOU] to them; because of that monument, they will be honored more than they would have if they had children; they will be honored forever.
6 Also the strangers, that join themselves to the LORD, to minister unto him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast by my covenant;
I will also bless those who are not Israelis, who (join themselves to/believe in) me, and who serve me and worship and love me, and who obey my laws about the Sabbath, and who faithfully obey [all the other laws of] the agreement that I [made with the Israeli people].
7 even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples.
I will bring them to my sacred hill [in Jerusalem], I will cause them to be [very] joyful in my temple where people pray to me, and I will accept the sacrifices that they completely burn [on my altar] and other sacrifices that they offer. I will do those things for them because I want my temple to be a building where people of all nations pray to me.
8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather [others] to him, beside his own that are gathered.
[I], Yahweh, the Lord, the one who will bring back the people of Israel who have been (forced to go/exiled) to other countries, say this: 'I will bring [from other countries] many more people to join those Israelis whom I have brought back.'”
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, [yea], all ye beasts in the forest.
“You [surrounding nations have armies that are like] [MET] animals in the forest; come and attack/destroy [Israel]!
10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
The Israeli leaders [should be like] watchdogs to protect the people, but [it is as though] they are blind. They are stupid. They are all [like] [MET] dogs that cannot bark. [Good watchdogs bark when strangers approach], [but the Israeli leaders do not warn the people that their enemies are coming]. Instead, they just want to lie down and sleep and dream.
11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
[And they are like] greedy dogs; they never get all that they want. They are [supposed to lead the people, like good] shepherds [lead their flocks], but they are ignorant, and they each do whatever they want to do.
12 Come ye, [say they], I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, [a day] great beyond measure.
They say to each other, ‘Come, let’s go and get some wine and [other] alcoholic/strong drinks, and let’s become drunk! And tomorrow we will enjoy drinking even more!’”
