Isaiah 56:3

Isaiah 56:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
• New International Version (NIV)Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, "The Lord will surely separate me from his people"; and let not the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”

Context of Isaiah 56:3

1This is what the Lord says: ‘Always be fair and do what is right. Soon I will come to rescue you. I will do what is right for my people. 2God will bless the people who do what is right. They must be careful to obey my laws. They must respect the rules for the Sabbath day and keep it special. They must refuse to do anything that is evil. When a foreigner decides to serve the Lord, he should not say, “The Lord will keep me separate from his own people.” A eunuch should not say, “I am no better than a dead tree.” ’ 4The Lord says this: ‘I will bless eunuchs who obey my laws. They must respect the rules for Sabbath days. They must choose to do what pleases me. They must always obey my covenant with my people. 5If they do that, I will give them a special place in my temple. It will cause people to remember them. Their name will continue in a better way than through sons and daughters. People will always honour their name. Nobody will cut it off.

Isaiah 56:3 word by word

וְאַל־יֹאמַ֣ר בֶּן־הַנֵּכָ֗ר הַנִּלְוָ֤ה אֶל־יְהוָה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הַבְדֵּ֧ל יַבְדִּילַ֛נִי יְהוָ֖ה מֵעַ֣ל עַמּ֑וֹ וְאַל־יֹאמַר֙ הַסָּרִ֔יס הֵ֥ן אֲנִ֖י עֵ֥ץ יָבֵֽשׁ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Neither let the sonבֵּןbên · son: type ofH1121
• of the strangerנֵכָרnêkâr · foreignH5236
• that hath joinedלָוָהlâvâh · to joinH3867
• himself to the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• speakאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• hath utterlyבָּדַלbâdal · to separateH914
• me from his peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• neither let the eunuchסָרִיסsârîys sâris · eunuchH5631
• a dryיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · dryH3002
• treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086

Cross-references for Isaiah 56:3

• Numbers 18:4The Levites must work with you as they take care of the Tent of Meeting. No other people have authority to come near you as you work there.
• Deuteronomy 23:1Perhaps a man has sex parts that someone has destroyed or spoiled. That man cannot join with the Lord's people when they meet together.
• Zechariah 8:20‘People that live in many countries will come to Jerusalem,’ says the Lord Almighty.
• Matthew 8:10Jesus heard what the officer said. He was very surprised. He spoke to the crowd that was following him. ‘I tell you this: I have never found anyone like this man in all of Israel. Nobody else believes in me as well as he does.
• Acts 8:27So Philip started on his journey. While he was going along this road, he met an important officer from Ethiopia. This man had authority over the queen of Ethiopia's money. The queen was called Candace. The officer was travelling home from Jerusalem. He had been there to worship God.
• Acts 10:1There was a man who lived in Caesarea and his name was Cornelius. He was an officer in the Roman army. His group of soldiers was called ‘The Group from Italy’.
• Acts 13:47The Lord God has also told us to do this. He said: “I have chosen you to be like a light to the Gentiles. You must go to people everywhere in the world. You must tell them how God wants to save them.” ’
• Acts 17:4Some of the Jews believed Paul's message. They joined the group with Paul and Silas. A large number of Greek people who now worshipped God also joined this group. Many important women in the city also believed and they joined the group.
• Acts 18:7So Paul did not speak in the Jewish meeting place any more. Instead, he went to the house of Titius Justus, which was next to the meeting place. Justus was a Gentile who now worshipped God.
• Romans 2:10But God will praise every person who does good things. He will make them great and they will have peace in their minds. He will do that first for the Jews, and he will do it also for the Gentiles.
• Romans 16:9Say ‘hello’ to Urbanus, who works with us to serve Christ. Also say ‘hello’ to my good friend Stachys.
• Ephesians 2:12At that time, you did not know about Christ, God's special Messiah. You did not belong to the nation of Israel's people. You did not know about the good things that God had promised to his people. You were living in this world with nothing good to hope for. You were living without God's help.
• 1 Peter 1:1This letter is from me, Peter. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you, God's own people that he has chosen. You are now living in many different places, in the regions called Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. You are living in these foreign places as strangers.
• Jeremiah 50:5They will ask people to show them the way to Zion. They will travel in that direction. They will promise to serve the Lord. They will make a covenant with him that will continue for ever. Nobody will ever forget that covenant.
• Zephaniah 2:11The Lord will make them afraid. He will destroy all the false gods. People will worship him instead. Every person, in his own place, will worship God. They will also worship him in the places where the people now believe in false gods.
• 1 Corinthians 6:17But everyone who is united to the Lord has the same spirit as him.

Commentaries on Isaiah 56:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Neither let the son of the stranger - The foreigner who shall become a proselyte to the true religion. That hath joined himself - That has embraced the true faith, and become a worshipper of the true God. It is evidently implied here that there would be such proselytes, and that the true religion would be extended so as to include and embrace them. The idea is, that they should be admitted to the same privileges with those who had been long recognized as…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-8Verses 3-8 Unbelief often suggests things to discourage believers, against which God has expressly guarded. Spiritual blessings are unspeakably better than having sons and daughters; for children are a care, and may prove a grief and shame, but the blessings we partake of in God's house, are comforts which cannot be made bitter. Those who love the Lord truly, will serve him faithfully, and then his commandments are not grievous. Three things are promised…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord would become full members of his covenant community. In earlier times, their participation had strict limits (Deuteronomy 23:3, 7–8). eunuch: In the past, a man who had been emasculated was not allowed to take part fully in the community (Deuteronomy 23:1). Both eunuchs and foreigners were seen as outside Israel’s holiness. They were considered on the edge of God’s people. But in the age to come, God would…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. God welcomes all believers, without distinction of persons, under the new economy (Ac 10:34, 35). joined ... to ... Lord--(Nu 18:4, 7). "Proselytes." separated--Proselytes from the Gentiles were not admitted to the same privileges as native Israelites. This barrier between Jews and Gentiles was to be broken down (Ep 2:14-16). eunuch--(Ac 8:27, &c.). Eunuchs were chamberlains over harems, or court ministers in general. dry tree--barren (compare Lu…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 56:3

• Church
• Eunuch
• Gentiles
• Isaiah
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Chamberlain
• Gather
• Proselyte
• Isaiah
• Law in the Old Testament
• Sabbath
• Saviour
• Stranger and Sojourner (in the Old Testament)

Commentaries on Isaiah 56

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings