CHAPTER 56 Ju1. 1 
Faithful Gentiles Will Be Accepted 
Thus says Yahweh, Keep justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. 2Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. 3Neither let the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying, Yahweh will surely separate me from His people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4For thus says Yahweh, To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and hold fast My covenant: 5to them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. 6Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to minister to Him and to love the name of Yahweh, to be His servants, each one who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast covenant; 7even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. 8The Lord Yahweh who gathers the outcasts of Israel says, Yet will I gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered. 9All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest. 10His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they can’t bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 11Yes, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds who can’t understand: they have each turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. 12Come, say they, I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, great beyond measure.

Commentary

56:7 My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples- Quoted by Jesus in Mt 21:13 as a demand for God’s house now to not be a forum for personal financial gain. If we are living the Kingdom life now, then whatever is said of the future Kingdom must in essence be the rule of our lives today.
56:11 Each turned to their own way- This phrase connects clearly with 53:6, which says that although we have each done this, Christ’s death was for us, to save us from that situation. The group in view in 56:11 were obsessed with money and personal pleasure, whilst claiming faith in God. Those types may seem the hardest to convert; but we are each in essence the same, and the connection with 53:6 shows that the cross is powerful enough to shake even them, even us, from such complacency.