Isaiah 55:3
Context
3“Incline your ear and come to Me.
         Listen, that you may live;
         And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
         According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

4“Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
         A leader and commander for the peoples.

5“Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,
         And a nation which knows you not will run to you,
         Because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
         For He has glorified you.”

6Seek the LORD while He may be found;
         Call upon Him while He is near.

7Let the wicked forsake his way
         And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
         And let him return to the LORD,
         And He will have compassion on him,
         And to our God,
         For He will abundantly pardon.

8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
         Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
         So are My ways higher than your ways
         And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
         And do not return there without watering the earth
         And making it bear and sprout,
         And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

11So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
         It will not return to Me empty,
         Without accomplishing what I desire,
         And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

12“For you will go out with joy
         And be led forth with peace;
         The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
         And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

13“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
         And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
         And it will be a memorial to the LORD,
         For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”



NASB ©1995

Parallel Verses
American Standard Version
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Incline your ear and come to me: hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies of David.

Darby Bible Translation
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David.

English Revised Version
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Webster's Bible Translation
Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

World English Bible
Turn your ear, and come to me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Young's Literal Translation
Incline your ear, and come unto me, Hear, and your soul doth live, And I make for you a covenant age-during, The kind acts of David -- that are stedfast.
Library
October 4. "Instead of the Brier, the Myrtle Tree" (Isa. Lv. 13).
"Instead of the brier, the myrtle tree" (Isa. lv. 13). God's sweetest memorial is the transformed thorn and the thistle blooming with flowers of peace and sweetness, where once grew recriminations. Beloved, God is waiting to make just such memorials in your life, out of the things that are hurting you most to-day. Take the grievances, the separations, the strained friendships and the broken ties which have been the sorrow and heartbreak of your life, and let God heal them, and give you grace to make
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

December 14. "Instead of the Thorn Shall Come up the Fir Tree" (Isa. Lv. 13).
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree" (Isa. lv. 13). Difficulties and obstacles are God's challenges to faith. When hindrances confront us in the path of duty we are to recognize them as vessels for faith to fill with the fulness and all-sufficiency of Jesus, and as we go forward, simply and fully trusting Him, we may be tested, we may have to wait and let patience have her perfect work, but we shall surely find at last the stone rolled away, and the Lord waiting to render unto us double
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Great Proclamation
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.'--ISAIAH lv.1. The meaning of the word preach is 'proclaim like a herald'; or, what is perhaps more familiar to most of us, like a town-crier; with a loud voice, clearly and plainly delivering the message. Now, there are other notions of a sermon than that; and there is other work which ministers have to do, of an educational kind.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

God's Ways and Man's
'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. 9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'-- ISAIAH lv. 8, 9. Scripture gives us no revelations concerning God merely in order that we may know about Him. These words are grand poetry and noble theology, but they are meant practically and in fiery earnestness. The 'for' at the beginning of each clause points us back to the previous
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Free Salvation
I. In the first place, then, I have to preach, to-night, WINE AND MILK--"Come buy wine and milk." There we have a description of the gospel--wine that maketh glad the heart of man; milk, the one thing and the only thing in the world which contains all the essentials of life. The strongest man might live on milk, for in it. there is everything which is needed for the human frame--for bone, for sinew, for nerve, for muscle, for flesh--all is there. There you have a double description. The gospel is
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

The Need and Nature of Conversion
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."--Isaiah 55:7. SOME years ago,[3]* I preached from the last four words of this verse, laying special stress upon the abundant pardon which is given to repenting sinners through the rich mercy of our God. On this occasion, I am going to put the emphasis upon the first part of the verse, speaking more upon the necessity
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 48: 1902

A God-Given Field (1894-1900)
"Lord, there is none beside thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength; help us, O Lord our God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are come against this multitude" (2 Chron. 14:11). THE story of the opening of Changte is so connected by a chain of prayer that to give isolated instances of prayer would be to break the chain. * * * * * A few months after our arrival in China an old, experienced missionary kindly volunteered to conduct Mr. Goforth and
Rosalind Goforth—How I Know God Answers Prayer

Faith and Acceptance
As your conscience has been quickened by the Holy Spirit, you have seen something of the evil of sin, of its power, its guilt, its woe; and you look upon it with abhorrence. You feel that sin has separated you from God, that you are in bondage to the power of evil. The more you struggle to escape, the more you realize your helplessness. Your motives are impure; your heart is unclean. You see that your life has been filled with selfishness and sin. You long to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to be set
Ellen Gould White—Steps to Christ

The Covenant of Grace
Q-20: DID GOD LEAVE ALL MANKIND TO PERISH 1N THE ESTATE OF SIN AND MISERY? A: No! He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver the elect out of that state, and to bring them into a state of grace by a Redeemer. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with you.' Isa 55:5. Man being by his fall plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and having no way left to recover himself, God was pleased to enter into a new covenant with him, and to restore him to life by a Redeemer. The great proposition I shall go
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

A New Agency Needed
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."[3] How true are these words! When the LORD is bringing in great blessing in the best possible way, how oftentimes our unbelieving hearts are feeling, if not saying, like Jacob of old, "All these things are against me." Or we are filled with fear, as were the disciples when the LORD, walking on the
James Hudson Taylor—A Retrospect

My Beloved is Mine and I am His; He Feedeth among the Lilies.
O inconceivable happiness of a soul wholly and unreservedly devoted to her beloved, and to whom the Well-beloved is all! The Spouse is here so enamored of the goodness and caresses of the Bridegroom manifested for the purpose of obliging her to leave herself, that she thinks she has already arrived at the height of felicity and summit of perfection, and that her marriage is now to take place. She says that her Beloved is hers, to dispose of as pleases Him, and that she is His, for the whole extent
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon

Links
Isaiah 55:3 NIVIsaiah 55:3 NLTIsaiah 55:3 ESVIsaiah 55:3 NASBIsaiah 55:3 KJVIsaiah 55:3 Bible AppsIsaiah 55:3 ParallelBible Hub
Isaiah 55:2
Top of Page
Top of Page