Isaiah 56:4

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

For thus saith Jehovah of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant:

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּי־כֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה לַסָּֽרִיסִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִשְׁמְרוּ֙ אֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֔י וּבָֽחֲר֖וּ בַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר חָפָ֑צְתִּי וּמַחֲזִיקִ֖ים בִּבְרִיתִֽי׃

Transliteration

For-thus ʾāmar YHWH to-hassārîsîm who yišmĕrû [obj]-šabbĕtôtay and bāḥărû in-what ḥāpāṣtî and maḥăzîqîm in-bĕrîtî.

Grammar Details

*kî*: conjunction - for/because
*kōh*: adverb - thus/so
*ʾāmar*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - said/declared
*YHWH*: proper noun - Yahweh/LORD
*lassārîsîm*: preposition with definite article and masculine plural noun - to the eunuchs
*ʾăšer*: relative pronoun - who/which/that
*yišmĕrû*: qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - they will keep/observe
*ʾet*: direct object marker
*šabbĕtôtay*: feminine plural noun with 1st person singular suffix - my sabbaths
*û*: conjunction - and
*bāḥărû*: qal perfect, 3rd common plural - they chose/selected
*baʾăšer*: preposition with relative pronoun - in that which
*ḥāpāṣtî*: qal perfect, 1st person singular - I delighted in/desired
*maḥăzîqîm*: hiphil participle, masculine plural - holding fast/strengthening/grasping
*bibrîtî*: preposition with feminine singular noun and 1st person singular suffix - in my covenant

Word Meanings

*hassārîsîm*: the eunuchs/court officials
*šabbĕtôtay*: my sabbaths/my rest days
*bāḥărû*: they chose/selected/preferred
*ḥāpāṣtî*: I delighted in/desired/pleased in
*maḥăzîqîm*: holding fast to/strengthening/grasping
*bĕrîtî*: my covenant/agreement/treaty

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Isa 56:6 : 6 Also the foreigners that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my covenant;
Jer 50:5 : 5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, [saying], Come ye, and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Luke 10:42 : 42 but one thing is needful: for Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Heb 6:17 : 17 Wherein {G1722} God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath;
Josh 24:15 : 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
2 Sam 23:5 : 5 Verily my house is not so with God; Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things, and sure: For it is all my salvation, and all [my] desire, Although he maketh it not to grow.
Ps 119:111 : 111 Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
Isa 27:5 : 5 Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; [yea], let him make peace with me.
Isa 55:3 : 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Isa 56:2 : 2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Isa 56:2-3
2 verses
82%
2Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
3Neither let the foreigner, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
Isa 56:5-8
4 verses
79%
5Unto them will I 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 that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my 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 upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
8The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather [others] to him, besides his own that are gathered.
Isa 39:7
70%
7And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Matt 19:12
70%
12For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
Isa 42:6
70%
6I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Jer 34:18-19
2 verses
69%
18And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, that have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain and passed between the parts thereof;
19the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf;
Ezek 44:7-9
3 verses
69%
7in that ye have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, [to add] unto all your abominations.
8And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things; but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
9Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners that are among the children of Israel.
Isa 58:13
68%
13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, [and] the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words:
Jer 13:11
68%
11For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah; that they may be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
Mal 3:17
67%
17And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, [even] mine own possession, in the day that I make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
2 Kgs 20:18
67%
18And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Isa 66:21
67%
21And of them also will I take for priests [and] for Levites, saith Jehovah.
Jer 17:24
67%
24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith Jehovah, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
Ezek 44:14
67%
14Yet will I make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
Lev 26:2
67%
2Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.
Isa 61:8
67%
8For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Jer 50:5
67%
5They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, [saying], Come ye, and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Ps 135:4
66%
4For Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself, [And] Israel for his own possession.
Isa 41:9
66%
9thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away;
Exod 31:16
66%
16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Mic 4:6
66%
6In that day, saith Jehovah, will I assemble that which is lame, and I will gather that which is driven away, and that which I have afflicted;
Lev 26:44-45
2 verses
66%
44And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Jehovah their God;
45but I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am Jehovah.
Ezek 37:26
66%
26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
Isa 58:6
66%
6Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 49:7-8
2 verses
66%
7Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of Jehovah that is faithful, [even] the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
8Thus saith Jehovah, In an acceptable time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages:
Lev 19:30
66%
30Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Jehovah.
Isa 66:4
66%
4I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not.
Isa 59:21
66%
21And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah: my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith Jehovah, from henceforth and for ever.
Ezek 16:60
66%
60Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Jer 11:6
66%
6And Jehovah said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
Isa 44:1
65%
1Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen:
Ezek 16:62
65%
62And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;
Neh 1:9
65%
9but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.
Isa 14:1
65%
1For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Deut 14:2
65%
2For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God, and Jehovah hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
Ps 65:4
65%
4Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee], That he may dwell in thy courts: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, Thy holy temple.
Jer 4:4
65%
4Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Ezek 44:24
65%
24And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to mine ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
Jer 9:25
65%
25Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in [their] uncircumcision:
Jer 29:4
65%
4Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon:
Isa 66:2
65%
2For all these things hath my hand made, and [so] all these things came to be, saith Jehovah: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word.