“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!
Parallel translations
- WEB “Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
- NASB “You there! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.
- NLT “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God invites all who thirst to come and freely receive water, wine, and milk without money or price. It matters because salvation's blessings are offered freely by grace to the needy.
Overview
This gracious invitation calls the spiritually thirsty and penniless to come and be satisfied at God's expense. The free offer of 'wine and milk without money' pictures abundant, unearnable grace. It anticipates Christ's call to all who thirst to come to Him and drink (John 7:37; Rev. 22:17), the gospel offer of free salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 32
- John 7:37–38On 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.
- Rev 21:6And 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.
- Rev 22:17The 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.
- John 4:10–14Jesus 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.”
- Isa 44:3For 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.
- Isa 41:17–18The 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.
- Ps 143:6I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Rev 22:1Then 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
- Joel 3:18And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.
- 1 Pet 2:2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- Ps 63:1A 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.
- Matt 10:8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
- Matt 13:44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
- Isa 52:3For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”
- Ps 42:1–2For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Rom 3:24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
- Hos 14:4I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them.
- Rev 3:18I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
- Eph 2:4–8But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Prov 1:21–23in the main concourse she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech:
- Song 5:1I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.
- Prov 8:4“To you, O men, I call out, and my cry is to the sons of men.
- Zech 9:15The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar.
- Matt 26:29I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
- Song 1:4Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.
- 1 Cor 3:2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,
- Zech 10:7Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
- Zech 2:6“Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.
- John 2:3–10When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”
- Ruth 4:1Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
- Lam 5:4We must buy the water we drink; our wood comes at a price.
- Song 1:2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 55:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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