The Prophets · Old Testament

Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55: come to the waters without money, and the word that does not return void

General context

The chapter calls everyone who thirsts to come to the waters, and those with no money to buy wine and milk without price. It asks why they spend money on what is not bread and labour on what does not satisfy, and tells them to hearken and eat what is good. Those who incline their ear and come will live, and the Lord will make an everlasting covenant with them, the sure mercies of David. The Lord says he has given him as a witness, leader and commander to the people, and tells his hearer that a nation he does not know will run to him because the Lord has glorified him. The hearers are told to seek the Lord while he may be found and call on him while he is near; the wicked should forsake his way and the unrighteous his thoughts, and return to the Lord who will abundantly pardon. The Lord says his thoughts are not their thoughts and his ways not their ways, higher as the heavens are higher than the earth. As rain and snow come down and do not return without watering the earth and giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so his word will not return void but will accomplish what he pleases. The people will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; mountains and hills will sing before them, and the trees of the field clap their hands. Fir trees will replace thorns and myrtles replace briers, as a name and an everlasting sign for the Lord that will not be cut off.

Cited passages: Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 55:2, Isaiah 55:3, Isaiah 55:4, Isaiah 55:5, Isaiah 55:6, Isaiah 55:7, Isaiah 55:8, Isaiah 55:9, Isaiah 55:10, Isaiah 55:11, Isaiah 55:12, Isaiah 55:13

Isaiah 55 (KJV)

¹Ho, 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.

²Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

³Incline 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.

⁴Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

⁵Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

⁶Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

⁷Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

¹¹So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

¹²For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

¹³Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

David is the one person named, and only inside the phrase the sure mercies of David, which the Lord offers as the content of an everlasting covenant. The next verse says the Lord has given him as a witness, leader and commander; the him is not renamed, and the text does not say whether it refers to David or to someone else. Verse 5 turns to a singular thou who will call an unknown nation, and that hearer is not identified either; the surrounding verses address a plural ye. The speaker is the Lord, marked by saith the Lord in verse 8, though the opening invitation has no speaker tag. The chapter names no place, date or occasion, and the going out with joy is promised rather than narrated; it does not say from where. The book of Acts later quotes the sure mercies of David, reporting the phrase as spoken concerning a raising from the dead, which is a later application and not something this chapter says. The everlasting sign at the end is defined by the text as the replacement of thorn with fir and brier with myrtle, and nothing more specific.

Cited passages: Isaiah 55:3, Isaiah 55:4, Isaiah 55:5, Isaiah 55:2, Isaiah 55:8, Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 55:12, Acts 13:34, Isaiah 55:13

Literary context

The chapter is built on invitations and on a single extended comparison. The first verse piles up commands, come, buy, eat, come, buy, and then removes the expected condition, without money and without price. Two questions about wasted money and labour follow, and the answer is to eat and to hear. Hearing is the repeated hinge: hearken diligently, incline your ear, hear, and your soul shall live. The chapter then narrows the window, while he may be found, while he is near, and widens the distance, as the heavens are higher than the earth. The rain and snow simile is worked out step by step, coming down, not returning, watering, budding, seed, bread, and then applied clause by clause to the word: it goes forth, does not return void, accomplishes, prospers. The picture of the word succeeding leads straight into the picture of the people going out, and the landscape answers them, mountains singing and trees clapping. The last verse replaces two plants with two others, and calls that exchange a name and a sign. The chapter follows the tent and stones of chapter 54 with water, bread, rain and trees.

Cited passages: Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 55:2, Isaiah 55:3, Isaiah 55:6, Isaiah 55:9, Isaiah 55:10, Isaiah 55:11, Isaiah 55:12, Isaiah 55:13, Isaiah 54:2

Key moments

Come to the waters (Isaiah 55:1). Everyone who thirsts is invited to buy wine and milk without money.
Why spend on what is not bread? (Isaiah 55:2). The Lord asks why they pay for what does not satisfy and tells them to eat what is good.
The sure mercies of David (Isaiah 55:3). An everlasting covenant is offered to those who incline their ear and come.
Seek the Lord while he may be found (Isaiah 55:6). The hearers are told to call on the Lord while he is near.
Thoughts higher than the heavens (Isaiah 55:9). The Lord says his ways exceed theirs as the heavens exceed the earth.
The word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Like rain and snow, the Lord's word accomplishes what he sends it to do.
Trees clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12). The people go out with joy while mountains sing and trees applaud.

For reflection

The chapter asks why people spend money for that which is not bread and labour for what does not satisfy. Which of a person's spending and labour would survive that question, and what would it take to notice the ones that would not?