Isaiah 55

Come to the Waters

1“Come, all who thirst, come to the water!
You who have no silver, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without silver, without a price. 2Why weigh out silver for what is not bread,
and spend your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me and eat what is good;
delight yourselves in rich food. 3Incline your ears and come to me;
listen, so you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
the faithful acts of love promised to David. 4Look, I made him a witness to peoples,
a leader and commander of peoples.

5Look, you will call a nation you do not know,
and a nation that does not know you will run to you,
because of the LORD your God,
Israel’s Holy One, who has glorified you.” 6Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call to him while he is near. 7Let the wicked abandon their way
and the wrongdoer their thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD, who will have compassion,
to our God, who abundantly forgives. 8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways,” declares the LORD.

9“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10As rain and snow come down from heaven
and do not return there without watering the earth,
making it bear and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so will my word be that goes out from my mouth:
it will not return to me empty.
It will accomplish what I desire
and succeed in what I sent it to do. 12For you will go out with joy
and be led in peace.
Mountains and hills will break into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

13Instead of thornbushes, cypress will grow;
instead of nettles, myrtle will grow.
This will bring the LORD renown,
an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.”