Bible Strands
Isaiah 55:1
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses the post-exilic remnant in Judah, calling out to all who are thirsty and those without money. The invitation is open and unconditional, set against a people who have known lack.
The words — ה֤וֹי (ho) is an interjection of alarm or lament, not a neutral summons — the verse opens with a cry, not a smooth "come." This tensions the BSB's polished "Come, all you who are thirsty" against the rawness of the Hebrew.
The thread — The "thirsty" / "come" motif recurs in John 7:37, where Jesus issues the same call on the last day of the feast, and in Revelation 21:6 and 22:17, where the invitation extends to the thirsty in the new creation.
Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to stop paying for substitutes (v. 2) and accept what is offered freely. The cost is not money but the willingness to come and receive.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Cross-references
- John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Revelation 21:6 And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- John 4:10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Isaiah 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Psalms 143:6 I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- 1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.