DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 7:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Isaiah 55-57Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
God Gives "Food" That Really Satisfies
55 "All you people who are thirsty, come!
Here is water for you to drink.
Don't worry if you have no money.
Come, eat and drink until you are full!
You don't need money.
The milk and wine are free.
2
Why waste your money on something that is not real food?
Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you?
Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.
3
Listen closely to what I say.
Listen to me so that you will live.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever.
It will be an agreement you can trust, like the one I made with David-
a promise to love him and be loyal to him forever.
4
I made David a witness of my power for all nations.
I promised him that he would become a ruler and commander of many
nations."
5
There are nations in places you don't know,
but you will call for them to come.
They don't know you,
but they will run to you.
This will happen because the Lord, your God, wants it.
It will happen because the Holy One of Israel honors you.
6
So you should look for the Lord
before it is too late.
You should call to him now,
while he is near.
7
Evil people should stop living evil lives.
They should stop thinking bad thoughts.
They should come to the Lord again,
and he will comfort them.
They should come to our God
because he will freely forgive them.
People Cannot Understand God
8
The Lord says, "My thoughts are not like yours.
Your ways are not like mine.
9
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
10
"Rain and snow fall from the sky
and don't return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow,
and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
11
In the same way, my words leave my mouth,
and they don't come back without results.
My words make the things happen that I want to happen.
They succeed in doing what I send them to do.
12
"So you will go out from there with joy.
You will be led out in peace.
When you come to the mountains and hills, they will begin singing.
All the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13
Large cypress trees will grow where there were thornbushes.
Myrtle trees will grow where there were weeds.
All this will happen to make the Lord known,
to be a permanent reminder of his goodness and power."
All Nations Will Follow the Lord
56 The Lord said these things, "Be fair to all people. Do what is right,
because soon my salvation will come to you. My goodness will soon be shown
to the whole world. 2 I will bless those who refuse to do wrong and who obey
the law about the Sabbath."
3 Some foreigners will choose to follow the Lord. They should not say, "The
Lord will not really accept me like the rest of his people." A eunuch should
not say, "I am only a dry piece of wood. I cannot have any children."
4 They should not say that because the Lord says, "Some eunuchs obey the
laws about the Sabbath. They choose to do what I want, and they follow my
agreement.[a] 5 So I will put a memorial stone in my Temple for them. Their
name will be remembered in my city! Yes, I will give those eunuchs something
better than sons and daughters. I will give them a name that will last
forever! They will not be cut off[b] from my people.
6 "Some foreigners have chosen to follow the Lord. They do this so that they
can serve him and love his name and be his servants. They keep the Sabbath
as a special day of worship, and they will continue to follow closely my
agreement. 7 So I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them happy in
my house of prayer. The offerings and sacrifices they give me will please
me, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations." 8
The Lord God said these things.
The Israelites were forced to leave their country, but the Lord will gather
them together again. He says, "I will bring them back together again!"
9
Wild animals in the forest,
come and eat.
10
The watchmen[c] are all blind.
They don't know what they are doing.
They are like dogs that will not bark.
They lie on the ground and sleep.
Oh, they love to sleep.
11
They are like hungry dogs.
They are never satisfied.
The shepherds don't know what they are doing.
Like their sheep, they have all wandered away.
They are greedy.
All they want is to satisfy themselves.
12
They come and say,
"I will drink some wine.
I will drink some beer.
I will do the same thing tomorrow,
but I will drink even more."
Israel Does Not Follow God
57 All the good people are gone,
and no one even noticed.
The loyal followers were gathered up,
but no one knows why.
The reason they were gathered up
is that trouble is coming.
2
But peace will come too,
and those who trust him will get to rest in their own beds.
3
"Come here, you children of witches.
Your father committed adultery,
and your mother was unfaithful.
4
You are children out of control, full of lies.
You make fun of me.
You make faces
and stick out your tongue at me.[d]
5
All you want is to worship false gods
under every green tree.
You kill children by every stream
and sacrifice them in the rocky places.
6
You love to worship the smooth rocks in the rivers.
You pour wine on them to worship them.
You give sacrifices to them, but those rocks are all you get.
Do you think this makes me happy?
7
You make your bed on every hill
and high mountain.[e]
You go up to those places
and offer sacrifices.
8
You hide the things that help you remember me
behind the doors and doorframes.[f]
You were with me,
but you got up to go to them.
You spread out your bed
and gave yourself to them.[g]
You love their beds
and enjoy looking at their naked bodies.[h]
9
You use your oils and perfumes
to look nice for Molech.
You sent your messengers to faraway lands,
and this will bring you down to the place of death.[i]
10
All of them made you tired,
but you never gave up.
You found new strength,
because you enjoyed them.
11
You did not remember me.
You did not even notice me!
So who were you worrying about?
Who were you afraid of?
Why did you lie?
Look, I have been quiet for a long time.
Is that why you didn't honor me?
12
I could tell about your 'good works' and all the 'religious' things you do,
but that will not help you.
13
When you need help,
you cry to those false gods that you have gathered around you.
Let them help you!
But I tell you, the wind will blow them all away.
A puff of wind will blow them all away.
But the one who depends on me
will get the land I promised
and enjoy my holy mountain.[j]"
The Lord Will Save His People
14
Clear the road! Clear the road!
Make the way clear for my people!
15
God is high and lifted up.
He lives forever.
His name is holy.
He says, "I live in a high and holy place,
but I also live with people who are humble and sorry for their sins.
I will give new life to those who are humble in spirit.
I will give new life to those who are sorry for their sins.
16
I will not accuse my people forever.
I will not always be angry.
If I continued to show my anger,
then the human spirit, the life I gave them, would die before me.
17
Israel's evil greed made me angry,
so I punished them.
I turned away from them
because I was angry.
But they continued to do wrong.
They did whatever they wanted.
18
I have seen their way of life, but I will heal them.
I will guide and comfort them and those who mourn for them.
19
I will teach them a new word: peace.
I will give peace to those who are near and to those who are far away.
I will heal them."
The Lord himself said this.
20
But evil people are like the angry ocean.
They cannot be quiet and peaceful.
They are angry, and like the ocean,
they stir up mud.
21
My God says,
"There is no peace for evil people."
Footnotes:
a.Isaiah 56:4 agreement This usually means the agreement God made with
Israel through Moses. (See "agreement" in the Word List.) Here, it might
mean the agreement of Isa. 55:3.
b.Isaiah 56:5 cut off To be removed from the list of the people of Israel.
This included a person's being forced to leave family, land, and the people
of Israel.
c.Isaiah 56:10 The watchmen Literally, "The seers," an ancient title for
prophets.
d.Isaiah 57:4 make faces . at me This probably refers to the god Bel, which
is usually shown making a face and sticking out his tongue.
e.Isaiah 57:7 every hill and high mountain The people worshiped false gods
in these places. The people thought these false gods would give them good
crops and more children.
f.Isaiah 57:8 doorframes The Israelites were supposed to put special things
on their doorframes to help them remember God. See Deut. 6:9.
g.Isaiah 57:8 gave yourself to them Or "and made agreements with them."
h.Isaiah 57:8 naked bodies This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word also means
"memorial," as in Isa. 56:5.
i.Isaiah 57:9 this will . death Or "You even send them down to Sheol."
j.Isaiah 57:13 holy mountain Mount Zion, one of the mountains Jerusalem was
built on.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
