Isaiah55
New Living Translation
1“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!
2Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
3“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
4See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations.
5You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”
6Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
7Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
8“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
11It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
12You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
13Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 55.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: An invitation to receive freely the blessings of the Saviour. (1-5). Gracious offers of pardon and peace. (6-13).
vv1-5
All are welcome to the blessings of salvation, to whom those blessings are welcome. In Christ there is enough for all, and enough for each. Those satisfied with the world, that see no need of Christ, do not thirst. They are in no uneasiness about their souls: but where God gives grace, he gives a thirst after it; and where he has given a thirst after it, he will give it. Come to Christ, for he is the Fountain opened, he is the Rock smitten. Come to holy ordinances, to the streams that make glad the city of our God. Come to the healing waters, come to the living waters, Rev. 22:17. Our Saviour referred to this, John 7:37. Come, and buy; make it your own by application of the grace of the gospel to yourselves. Come, and eat; make it still more your own, and enjoy it. The world comes short of our expectations; we promise ourselves, at least, water in it, and we are disappointed; but Christ outdoes our expectations. We come to him, and we find wine and milk. The gifts offered to us are such as no price can be set upon. The things offered are already paid for; for Christ purchased them at the full price of his own blood, I Pet. 1:19. Our wants are beyond number, and we have nothing to supply them; if Christ and heaven are ours, we see ourselves for ever indebted to free grace. Hearken diligently; let the proud heart stoop; not only come, but accept God's offers. All the wealth and pleasure in the world, will not yield solid comfort and content to the soul. They do not satisfy even the appetites of the body; for all is vanity and vexation. Let the disappointments we meet with in the world, help to drive us to Christ, and to seek for satisfaction in him only. Then, and not before, we shall find rest for our souls. Hear, and your soul shall live. On what easy terms is happiness offered us! By the sure mercies of David, we are to understand the Messiah. All his mercies are covenant mercies; they are purchased by him, they are promised in him, and out of his hand they are dispensed to us. We know not how to find the way to the waters, but Christ is given to be a Leader, a Commander, to show us what to do, and enable us to do it. Our business is to obey him, and follow him. And there is no coming to the Father but by him. He is the Holy One of Israel, true to his promises; and he has promised to glorify Christ, by giving him the heathen for his inheritance.
vv6-13
Here is a gracious offer of pardon, and peace, and of all happiness. It shall not be in vain to seek God, now his word is calling to us, and his Spirit is striving with us. But there is a day coming when he will not be found. There may come such a time in this life; it is certain that at death and judgment the door will be shut. There must be not only a change of the way, but a change of the mind. We must alter our judgments about persons and things. It is not enough to break off from evil practices, we must strive against evil thoughts. To repent is to return to our Lord, against whom we have rebelled. If we do so, God will multiply to pardon, as we have multiplied to offend. But let none trifle with this plenteous mercy, or use it as an occasion to sin. Men's thoughts concerning sin, Christ, and holiness, concerning this world and the other, vastly differ from God's; but in nothing more than in the matter of pardon. We forgive, and cannot forget; but when God forgives sin, he remembers it no more. The power of his word in the kingdoms of providence and grace, is as certain as in that of nature. Sacred truth produces a spiritual change in the mind of men, which neither rain nor snow can make on the earth. It shall not return to the Lord without producing important effects. If we take a special view of the church, we shall find what great things God has done, and will do for it. The Jews shall come to their own land; this shall represent the blessings promised. Gospel grace will make a great change in men. Delivered from the wrath to come, the converted sinner finds peace in his conscience; and love constrains him to devote himself to the service of his Redeemer. Instead of being profane, contentious, selfish, or sensual, behold him patient, humble, kind, and peaceable. The hope of helping in such a work should urge us to spread the gospel of salvation. And do thou help us, O Spirit of all truth, to have such views of the fulness, freeness, and greatness of the rich mercy in Christ, as may remove from us all narrow views of sovereign grace.
Key Words
הוֹי: oh!
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
צָמֵא: thirsty (literally or figuratively)
יָלַךְ: to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
מַיִם: water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
אַיִן: a non-entity; generally used as a negative particle
כֶּסֶף: silver (from its pale color); by implication, money
שָׁבַר: to deal in grain
אָכַל: to eat (literally or figuratively)
Cross References
Isaiah 55Explicitly quotes the Greek translation of 'the sure mercies of David' in reference to Christ's resurrection.
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Jesus directly echoes the invitation to the thirsty to come and drink of living waters.
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Jesus defines His mission as bearing witness to the truth, fulfilling His designation as a witness.
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The final gospel invitation echoing the call to take the water of life freely without cost.
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Christ counsels spiritual bankrupts to 'buy' true riches from Him without physical money.
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David's final words regarding God's ordered, sure, and everlasting covenant with his lineage.
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Christ is explicitly titled 'the faithful witness,' matching the prophetic description in Isaiah.
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Illuminates the metaphorical use of 'buying' spiritual truth and grace rather than physical goods.
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Parallels the vanity of laboring and exhausting oneself for that which does not satisfy.
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Echoes the promise of nations running to Israel because the Lord has glorified His people.
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Exhorts godly seeking of the Lord in a time when He may be found.
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Wisdom's invitation to eat of her bread and drink of her mingled wine.
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Prophesies the Lord's mountain feast containing refined, rich food and well-aged wines.
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God promises to make an everlasting covenant, assuring He will not turn away from them.
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