All Nations Will Be Part of God's People
56 The Lord said:
Be honest and fair!
Soon I will come to save you;
my saving power will be seen
everywhere on earth.
2 I will bless everyone
who respects the Sabbath
and refuses to do wrong.
3 Foreigners who worship me
must not say,
“The Lord won't let us
be part of his people.”
Men who are unable
to become fathers
must no longer say,
“We are dried-up trees.”
4 (A) To them, I, the Lord, say:
Respect the Sabbath,
obey me completely,
and keep our agreement.
5 Then you will be like monuments
in my temple with your names
written on them.
This will be much better
than having children,
because these monuments
will stand there forever.
6 Foreigners will follow me.
They will love me and worship
in my name;
they will respect the Sabbath
and keep our agreement.
7 (B) I will bring them
to my holy mountain,
where they will celebrate
in my house of worship.
Their sacrifices and offerings
will always be welcome
on my altar.
Then my house will be known
as a house of worship
for all nations.
8 I, the Lord, promise
to bring together my people
who were taken away,
and let them join the others.
God Promises To Punish Israel's Leaders
9 Come from the forest,
you wild animals!
Attack and gobble up
your victims.
10 You leaders of Israel
should be watchdogs,
protecting my people.
But you can't see a thing,
and you never warn them.
Dozing and daydreaming
are all you ever do.
11 You stupid leaders are a pack
of hungry and greedy dogs
that never get enough.
You are shepherds
who mistreat your own sheep
for selfish gain.
12 You say to each other,
“Let's drink till we're drunk!
Tomorrow we'll do it again.
We'll really enjoy ourselves.”