Section 144 of 17455:6–13Isaiah

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King James VersionIsaiah 55:6–13

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

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.

For 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.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Isaiah 55:6–13

Returning, Pardon, Effective Word, and Joy Complete the Invitation

My word will not return empty

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call while he is near. The wicked are invited to forsake their way; God will abundantly pardon. Heavens are higher than earth, and so are these thoughts. Rain and snow water the ground and do not return until they have done their work; the word is like that. You shall go out in joy; cypress instead of thorn; a name and a sign that will not be cut off.

Pardon is abundant, which means the returners are not being admitted on a technicality. Higher thoughts are not a fog machine; they explain why mercy can exceed our accounting. Effective speech closes the comfort book: God does not send a word to fail. Joyful going-out is still not a promise of ease on demand.

Thorn to myrtle is landscape as theology. A warranted life is to come while the invitation is open, to stop claiming our thoughts as the ceiling of what God can forgive, and to trust that the word at work in the world is more like weather than like our slogans.

How this should shape us

Come while the invitation is open, and stop claiming your thoughts as the ceiling of pardon. Trust the word to work like rain, not like a slogan that guarantees ease.

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Isaiah 55:6–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 55:6–13 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked

NET Bible Notes: Isaiah

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Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 55:6–13 in the complete 205-page book PDF

Second Isaiah study-guide course

Supports: Babylonian-exile and Persian horizons, new exodus, Cyrus, servant figures, Daughter Zion, nations, suffering, and transition to plural servants.

Yale Bible Study, Second Isaiah course, Arm of God guide on Isaiah 52:13-55:13; applied to Isaiah 55:6–13

Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception

Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.

Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 2C, Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to Isaiah 55:6–13

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Exact location: Isaiah 55:6–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

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Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

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Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 55:6–13 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked

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Biblical Studies Press

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Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 55:6–13 in the complete 205-page book PDF

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Second Isaiah study-guide course

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Yale Bible Study, 2019; current public course

Supports: Babylonian-exile and Persian horizons, new exodus, Cyrus, servant figures, Daughter Zion, nations, suffering, and transition to plural servants.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Second Isaiah course, Arm of God guide on Isaiah 52:13-55:13; applied to Isaiah 55:6–13

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Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception

Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024

Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 2C, Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to Isaiah 55:6–13

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