Isaiah 56 KJV
Salvation for All Nations
Isaiah Chapter 56: Salvation for All Nations
Isaiah 56 directly reverses Deuteronomy 23:1 by granting eunuchs who keep the Sabbath an everlasting name and memorial within the temple, redefining covenant membership around ethical fidelity rather than bodily wholeness.
1hus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
8 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
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Did You Know?
Isaiah 56 directly reverses Deuteronomy 23:1 by granting eunuchs who keep the Sabbath an everlasting name and memorial within the temple, redefining covenant membership around ethical fidelity rather than bodily wholeness.
The phrase in verse 7 calling the temple a 'house of prayer for all people' supplies the precise scriptural warrant Jesus invokes during the temple cleansing, framing his action as fulfillment of Isaiah's vision of Gentile inclusion.
Foreigners and eunuchs are promised not merely admission but active roles in temple service and sacrifices, elevating former outsiders to priest-like functions that exceed their legal status under earlier Torah regulations.
The chapter's opening call to 'keep judgment and do justice' because salvation is near fuses ethical imperatives with eschatological urgency, a linkage that later apocalyptic texts like Revelation 22 echo in their final invitations.
By depicting the leaders as 'dumb dogs' unable to bark and 'greedy dogs' never satisfied, Isaiah 56 introduces canine imagery for corrupt watchmen that recurs in intertestamental literature to critique negligent religious authorities.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain judgment โ equity. John the Baptist preached similarly a return to righteousness, as needed to prepare men for Messiah's first coming (Lu 3:3, 8-14). So it shall be before the secoโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Isaiah 56 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: The preparation needed on the part of those who wish to be admitted to the kingdom of God.
- 1
- judgment โ equity. John the Baptist preached similarly a return to righteousness, as needed to prepare men for Messiah's first coming (Lu 3:3, 8-14). So it shall be before the second coming (Mal 4:4-6). near to come โ (Mt 3:2; 4:17), also as to the second coming (Isa 62:10, 11; Lu 21:28, 31; Ro 13:11, 12; Heb 10:25). righteousness โ answering to "salvation" in the parallel clause; therefore it means righteousness which bringeth salvation (Isa 46:13; Ro 3:25, 26).
- 2
- (Lu 12:43). the man โ Hebrew, enosh, "a man in humble life," in contradistinction to Hebrew, ish, "one of high rank." Even the humblest, as "the stranger" and "the eunuch" (Isa 56:4, 6), are admissible to these privileges. this... it โ what follows: "keeping the Sabbath," &c. (Isa 58:13, 14; Eze 20:12). A proof that the Sabbath, in the spirit of its obligation, was to be binding under the Gospel (Isa 66:23). That gospel times are referred to is plain, from the blessing not being pronounced on the man who observed the sacrificial ritual of the Jewish law. layeth hold โ image from one grasping firmly some precious object which he is afraid of having forcibly snatched from him. The "Sabbath" here includes all the ordinances of divine worship under the new gospel law. keepeth... hand... from... evil โ The observance of the second table of the law; as the "Sabbath" referred to the first table. Together, they form the whole duty of man, the worship of God and a holy life.
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