Yesaya 56:2-6

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ¹ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ² 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ³ 

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ⁴  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ⁵  exclude me from his people.’

The eunuch should not say,

‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ⁶  my covenant,

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ⁷ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ⁸  for them that will remain.

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ⁹  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ¹⁰  my covenant –

Yesaya 58:13-14

58:13 You must ¹¹  observe the Sabbath ¹² 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ¹³ 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ¹⁴ 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ¹⁵ 

You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ¹⁶ 

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ¹⁷ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ¹⁸ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ¹⁹ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ²⁰ 

[56:2]  ¹ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

[56:2]  ² tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”

[56:2]  ³ tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[56:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[56:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[56:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[56:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[58:13]  ¹¹ tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14.

[58:13]  ¹² tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).

[58:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).

[58:14]  ¹⁷ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).