Isaiah 55

¹ Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy corn without money, and eat, and, at no cost, wine and milk.

² Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy.

³ Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live.

⁴ See, I have made of you a witness to the peoples, a leader and a master of the nations.

⁵ See, you will summon a nation you never knew, those unknown will come hurrying to you, for the sake of Yahweh your God, of the Holy One of Israel who will glorify you.

⁶ Seek Yahweh while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near.

⁷ Let the wicked man abandon his way, the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn back to Yahweh who will take pity on him, to our God who is rich in forgiving;

⁸ for my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways – it is Yahweh who speaks.

⁹ Yes, the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts.

¹⁰ Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating,

¹¹ so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.

¹² Yes, you will leave with joy and be led away in safety. Mountains and hills will break into joyful cries before you and all the trees of the countryside clap their hands.

¹³ Cypress will grow instead of thorns, myrtle instead of briars. And this will make Yahweh famous, a sign for ever, ineffaceable.