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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 56

1 This is what the Lord says, “Promote justice! Do what is right!⁠ For I am ready to deliver you; I am ready to vindicate you openly. 2 The people who do this will be blessed, the people who commit themselves to obedience, who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. 3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of the Lord should say, ‘The Lord will certainly exclude me from his people. ’The eunuch should not say, ‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’” 4 For this is what the Lord says: “For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and are faithful to my covenant, 5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters. I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.⁠ 6 As for foreigners who become followers of the Lord and serve him, who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants—all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, and who are faithful to my covenant—⁠ 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” 8 The Sovereign Lord says this, the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will still gather them up.”⁠ 9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour, all you wild animals in the forest! 10 All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze.⁠ 11 The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. 12 Each one says, “Come on, I’ll get some wine! Let’s guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We’ll have everything we want!”

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 56:1 and Psalm 106:3

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 106 commends those who practice justice and always do what is right, presenting this as the proper way of life. Isaiah 56 opens with the same emphasis, urging the people to uphold justice and good conduct in anticipation of the coming end of exile.

Passages

Isaiah 56:1

Hebrew Bible
1 This is what the Lord says, “Promote justice! Do what is right! For I am ready to deliver you; I am ready to vindicate you openly. 2 The people who do this will be blessed, the people who commit themselves to obedience, who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. 3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of the Lord should say, ‘The Lord will certainly exclude me from his people. ’The eunuch should not say, ‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Psalm 106:3

Hebrew Bible
1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his loyal love endures. 2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts or relate all his praiseworthy deeds? 3 How blessed are those who promote justice and do what is right all the time. 4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people. Pay attention to me, when you deliver, 5 so I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, rejoice along with your nation, and boast along with the people who belong to you.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... The commendation formula used in verse 3 describes a state to be emulated. Here it functions not simply as an exhortation but also as an answer to the question of verse 2. Right living is the prerequisite for deliverance. The logic is that expressed in the divine message of Isaiah 56:1: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come ...” At present a barrier lies across the way of fullness of praise, a barrier to be mentioned in verse 6. But the worship leader looks forward to a new manifestation of Yahweh’s goodness in the form of full restoration, when full praise too will be restored. He prays that he personally may be privileged to see that day. Thereby he expresses his own assurance that eventually it will dawn ..."
Leslie C. Allen, Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2018), 181.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 56:1 and Psalm 106:3

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