Pentecost Season · Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A
Isaiah 55:10-11
Invitation to the Thirsty
July 12, 2026
Overview & Insights
“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
An Invitation to Sing: Once again a return to a focus on Ms Jerusalem follows the servant passage, as happened after 49:1–6 and 50:4–11. There were hints there that Ms Jerusalem’s restoration was the correlate of Ms Babylon’s humiliation in chapter 47. Chapter 54 is the systematic exposition of that theme. The prophet takes up five images of Ms Jerusalem which once again resume the themes of the people’s prayers (we are like a childless and abandoned woman, the victim of angry abuse—literally, we are a battered and insecure city) before coming to a striking conclusion.
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Commentary
Working Preacher: Commentary on Isaiah 55:10-13 Working Preacher
A preaching focused reading of the word that does its work.
Enduring Word: Isaiah 55 Enduring Word · David Guzik
Verse by verse evangelical commentary on the chapter.
Bible Hub: Isaiah 55:10 Commentaries BibleHub
Multiple commentators lined up on the fruitful word.
Barnes' Notes on Isaiah 55 StudyLight
A concise older commentary on the chapter.
Brant Pitre on the 15th Sunday Readings (Year A) Catholic Productions · Brant Pitre
A Catholic reading of the fruitful word set beside the parable of the sower.
Background & Word Study
Questions preachers ask
What does Isaiah 55 invite?
The chapter calls the thirsty to come to the Lord for free grace, and here urges seeking him while he is near, for his thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9). Mercy is held out to all who turn.
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