55
1 All you people who are in exile, who are needy,
come to me!
It is as though [MET] you are thirsty,
so come and get water from me!
It is as though you have no money,
but you can come and get things like wine and milk from me!
You can get what you need from me,
and I will not charge you anything for them!
2 What you really need is my kindness,
so why do you spend money to buy things that do not supply what you really need?
Why do you work hard to get money to buy things that do not satisfy your inner beings?
Pay attention to what I say
and acquire what is really good,
and then your in your soul you will enjoy truly delightful things.
3 Listen to me and come to me;
pay attention to me, and if you do that, you will have new life in your soul.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever
to faithfully love you like I loved King David.
4 By what he did, I showed my power to many people-groups;
I caused him to be a leader and commander over many nations.
5 And in the same way, you will summon people of other nations to come to you,
nations that you have not heard about,
and they will come to you quickly
because they will have heard about the wonderful ways that I, Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, have honored you.
6 Seek to know me while you are still able to do that;
call to me while I am near!
7 Wicked people should abandon their wicked behavior,
and evil people should stop thinking what is evil.
They should turn to me,
and if they do that, I will act mercifully toward them;
they should turn to me, their God,
because I will freely pardon them.
8 I, Yahweh, declare that my thoughts are not the same as your thoughts,
and my actions are very different from your actions.
9 Just as the sky is far above the earth,
my actions are far greater than yours,
and my thoughts are much greater than yours.
10 Rain and snow come down from the sky,
and they bring moisture to the earth before the moisture returns to the clouds.
The moisture causes plants to sprout and grow,
with the result that the soil produces seed for the farmer and grain to produce flour to make bread for us to eat.
11 And similarly what I promise will produce the great results that I have intended;
my promises will always be fulfilled [LIT].
They will accomplish the things that I gave them to accomplish.
12 Then you will leave Babylon joyfully,
you will have peace as I lead you out.
It will be as though the hills and mountains will sing joyfully
and the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13 Instead of thornbushes and briers,
pine trees and myrtle trees will grow in your land.
As a result of those things, my reputation/fame will increase;
and what I do will remind everyone forever that I am very powerful.
Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.