Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55 is the fifty-fifth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 40-55 are known as "Deutero-Isaiah" and date from the time of the Israelites' exile in Babylon.

Isaiah 55
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The Great Isaiah Scroll, the best preserved of the biblical scrolls found at Qumran from the second century BC, contains all the verses in this chapter.
Book	Book of Isaiah
Hebrew Bible part	Nevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part	5
Category	Latter Prophets
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	23

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 13 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).^[1]

Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (3rd century BC or later):

• 1QIsa^a: complete
• 1QIsa^b: extant: verses 2‑13
• 4QIsa^c (4Q57): extant: verses 1‑6

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^Q; 6th century).^[2]

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.^[3] Isaiah 55 is a part of the Consolations (Isaiah 40–66). {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.

{S} 55:1–5 {S} 55:6–13 {P}

The Lord's invitation (Verses 1 and 3)

Verse 1

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,

and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;

yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.^[4]

In the Septuagint, the invitation reads:

Go to the water, ... go and buy.^[5]

Verse 3

Incline your ear, and come unto me:

hear, and your soul shall live;

and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

even the sure mercies of David.^[6]

This passage is cited by the Apostle Paul in a synagogue in Antioch, Pisidia, as recorded in Acts 13:34.

Verse 6

Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.^[7]

That the LORD may "still" be found is highlighted in several translations, such as the Jerusalem Bible (1966) and the Contemporary English Version (1995).^[8] Albert Barnes writes of the implications here, that:

1. God may now be found
2. [But] the time will come when it will be impossible to obtain God's favor.name=barnes />

As a messianic text,

The leading thought is, that ... the offer of salvation will be made to people fully and freely. But the period will come when it will be withdrawn. If God forsakes human beings; if he wholly withdraws his Spirit; if they have committed the sin which hath never forgiveness; or if they neglect or despise the provisions of mercy and die in their sins, it will be too late, and mercy cannot then be found. How unspeakably important, then, is it to seek for mercy at once - lest, slighted now, the offer should be withdrawn. or lest death should Overtake us.^[9]

This verse is commonly seen as relating to prayer and is used for Rogate Sunday in the Lutheran tradition.^[10]

God's words are powerful (55:8–11)

Verse 8

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,

saith the Lord.^[11]

Verse 9

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.^[12]

Anglican bishop Robert Lowth argues that the comparative "higher" is an incorrect translation here, stating this verse instead as:

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

Verses 10–11

¹⁰For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

and do not return there but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud

that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

¹¹so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.^[13]

The theme of verses 10 and 11 is closely comparable to Isaiah 40:8, and together these form an 'inclusio', bracketing the section comprising chapters 40–55, as 'the end matching the beginning'.^[14]

God's people will celebrate (55:12–13)

"Paradise regained" is a recurring theme in the book of Isaiah, that after the transformation of animal life in Isaiah 11:6–9, the plant life is here transformed from the 'briers and thorns' as threats to agriculture in Isaiah 5:6 and others, to be cypress and myrtle (cf. Isaiah 41:19) in praise of God.^[14]

See also

• Bible portal

• David
• Related Bible parts: Isaiah 63, Matthew 5, John 7, Acts 13

References

1. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
2. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
3. As reflected in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
4. Isaiah 55:1
5. Brenton's Septuagint Translation of Isaiah 55:1
6. Isaiah 55:3
7. Isaiah 55:6: NKJV
8. Isaiah 55:6: CEV
9. Barnes, A., Barnes' Notes on Isaiah 55, accessed 24 September 2023
10. Gienapp, J. H., Homiletics: Sermon Study on Isaiah 55:6-11, Concordia Theological Monthly, p. 198, published 3 January 1951, accessed 24 September 2023
11. Isaiah 55:8
12. Isaiah 55:9
13. Isaiah 55:10–11 MEV
14. Coggins 2007, p. 479.

Sources

• Coggins, R (2007). "22. Isaiah". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 433–486. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
• Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. ISBN 9789004181830. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
• Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7.

External links

Jewish

• Isaiah 55 Hebrew with Parallel English

Christian

• Isaiah 55 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate