Isaiah 55:3

 Isaiah 55:3

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.

a. ASV: 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.

b. YLT: Incline your ear, and come unto me, Hear, and your soul doth live, And I make for you a covenant age-during, The kind acts of David -- that are stedfast.

c. Amplified Bible: “Incline your ear [to listen] and come to Me; Hear, so that your soul may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies [promised and] shown to David.

d. Septuagint: Give heed with your ears, and follow my ways: hearken to me, and your soul shall live in prosperity; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, and your soul will be rejuvenated; I will make an eternal covenant with you, the enduring kindnesses [promised to] David.

1. “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live…”

a. Incline [5186 * natah][Strong: to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows):--+ afternoon, apply, bow (down, - ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down, be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread (out), stretch (forth, out), take (aside), turn (aside, away), wrest, cause to yield.]

b. your ear [241 * 'ozen] [Strong: from 238; broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in man):--+ advertise, audience, + displease, ear, hearing, + show.]

1). Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

c. [and] come [Strong 3212 * yalak: a primitive root (Compare 1980); to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses):--X again, away, bear, bring, carry (away), come (away), depart, flow, + follow(-ing), get (away, hence, him), (cause to, made) go (away, -ing, -ne, one's way, out), grow, lead (forth), let down, march, prosper, + pursue, cause to run, spread, take away ((-journey)), vanish, (cause to) walk(-ing), wax, X be weak.]

d. unto [me] [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).

e. hear [8085 * shama`] [Strong: a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.):--X attentively, call (gather) together, X carefully, X certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, X diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear(-ken, tell), X indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim(-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, X surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.] 

f. [and your] soul [5315 *  nephesh] [Strong: from 5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):--any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead(-ly), desire, X (dis-)contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-)self, them (your)-selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.]

f. [shall] live [2421 * chayah] [Strong: a primitive root (Compare 2331, 2421); to live, whether literally or figuratively; causatively, to revive:--keep (leave, make) alive, X certainly, give (promise) life, (let, suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, (X God) save (alive, life, lives), X surely, be whole.]

2. “…and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

a. [and I will] make [3772 * karath] [Strong: a primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces):--be chewed, be con-(feder-)ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ((covenant)), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.]

b. [an] everlasting [Strong: 5769 * owlam: properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always:--alway(-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, (n-))ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end).]

1). This is the same Hebrew word used in describing how long God has been God.

a). Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

c. covenant [with you] [Strong: 1285 * beriyth: (in the sense of cutting (like 1254); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):--confederacy, (con-)feder(-ate), covenant, league.]

1). The words “everlasting covenant” speak for themselves that this is speaking of eternal life. Luke the writer of Acts writing down Paul’s words confirm this fact.

 a). Acts 13:34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

d. [even the] sure [539 * 'aman] [Strong: a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa. 30:21; interchangeable 541) to go to the right hand:--hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.]

e. mercies [2617 * checed] [Strong: from 2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety: rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty:--favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-)kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.]

f. of David [1732 * David] [Strong: rarely (fully); Daviyd, from the same as 1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse:--David.]

1). The reason they are referred to as the sure mercies of David is because Lord promised that David be raised him from the dead to sit on the throne.

a). Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

b). Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

34:24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.

c). Ezekiel 37:24, 25 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.