In the latest episode of Blessed Are the Binary Breakers, I share a sermon on Isaiah 56:3-8. This bit of scripture proclaims God's message of not only tolerance but radical welcome for the ultimate Others of the biblical world: eunuchs.
How did Isaiah 56's author come to understand divine affirmation for this denigrated group, when Deuteronomy 23's author had offered only rejection? And why does this scripture resonate deeply with many transgender persons of faith today?
Listen wherever you get podcasts, or click here for a direct link + episode transcript.
And look under the readmore for my direct translation of Isaiah 56 from the Hebrew, along with image descriptions and resource links.
ID for the above two images:
On a trans flag background, text titled "Isaiah 56:3-8 reworked for a trans context" reads:
Do not cause the child who’s grown up in your church to believe, “I don’t belong here anymore.” And do not let the trans person who has tried again and againto find welcome lament, “See, no one cares about me.”
For thus says LIVING GODto these beloved children made in Their own divine, boundless image:
I give to you, in my own home and within my own heart, a place of honor, better than any church that fails you.
Your chosen name is cherished, and I’ll make sure you’re not forsaken or forgotten.
The passage continues on the next image, reading:
For everyone who comes to me for solace, everyone who seeks my liberation, everyone who joins me in making justice roll like water will be brought to my holy mountain.
Joy will be theirs, and a welcome that far surpasses tolerance — their wisdom, their gifts, their leadership will be accepted with gratitude; for my kin-dom is for all peoples — the outcasts most of all.
If you don’t see them among you, it is you who must move — come, seek them and find me, the God who gathers more, and still more people to my table, till all have their honored place. / end ID
ID: Text on a sunset sky background is titled "Isaiah 56:3-8, My translation from the Hebrew" and reads:
Do not let the foreigner who grafts themself to LIVING GOD say, “LIVING GOD will sever, will utterly exclude me from His people.”
And do not let the eunuch say, “See, I am a dried-out tree.”
For thus says LIVING GOD to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose what delights me, and hold fast to my covenant: I will give to them, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.
A name everlasting will I give to them, that shall not be cut off.
The translation continues on the next image, reading:
And the foreigners who graft themselves to LIVING GOD,
ministering to Them and loving the name of LIVING GOD,
becoming Her servants – every one who keeps Sabbath undefiled,
and holds fast to my covenant —
[These] I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their offerings and their sacrifices will be welcome on my altar,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
A declaration of the Lord, LIVING GOD,
who is gathering the outcasts of Israel:
“I will gather still more to them, beyond those already gathered.”
Further reading:
Check out my translation notes here!
I also write about biblical eunuchs in the "Better than Sons or Daughters" section of this webpage — with more quotes and links from Austen Hartke, Peterson Toscano, and others.
1 Thus said Jehovah: `Keep ye judgment, and do righteousness, For near [is] My salvation to come, And My righteousness to be revealed.'
2 O the happiness of a man who doth this, And of a son of man who keepeth hold on it, Keeping the sabbath from polluting it, And keeping his hand from doing any evil.
3 Nor speak let a son of the stranger, Who is joined unto Jehovah, saying: Jehovah doth certainly separate me from His people.' Nor say let the eunuch,Lo, I am a tree dried up,'
4 For thus said Jehovah of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant:
5 I have given to them in My house, And within My walls a station and a name, Better than sons and than daughters, A name age-during I give to him That is not cut off.
6 And sons of the stranger, who are joined to Jehovah, To serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant.
7 I have brought them unto My holy mountain, And caused them to rejoice in My house of prayer, Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices [Are] for a pleasing thing on Mine altar, For My house, `A house of prayer,' Is called for all the peoples.
8 An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Who is gathering the outcasts of Israel: `Again I gather to him -- to his gathered ones.'
9 Every beast of the field, Come to devour, every beast in the forest.
10 Blind [are] his watchmen -- all of them, They have not known, All of them [are] dumb dogs, they are not able to bark, Dozing, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 And the dogs [are] strong of desire, They have not known sufficiency, And they [are] shepherds! They have not known understanding, All of them to their own way they did turn, Each to his dishonest gain from his quarter:
12 `Come ye, I take wine, And we drink, quaff strong drink, And as this day hath been to-morrow, Great -- exceeding abundant!'
— Isaiah 56 | Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain.
Cross References: Exodus 20:8; Exodus 31:13; Leviticus 21:20; Psalm 85:9; Psalm 104:20; Isaiah 1:3; Isaiah 1:17; Isaiah 2:2-3; Isaiah 14:1; Isaiah 18:6; Isaiah 28:7; Isaiah 29:9; Isaiah 58:13; Isaiah 60:10; Jeremiah 14:13-14; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 12:19-20; John 7:35; John 10:16; Acts 8:27; 1 Corinthians 15:32; Revelation 2:17
Hi! Can you recommend any resources from the Bible study yesterday? I wanted to attend but was prevented by a giant anxiety attack
Hey, sorry to hear about your anxiety attack. I hope you're feeling a little better today. <3
Here's the PowerPoint I used for the study in Google Drive!
And here are some more resources on eunuchs, since the slides don't go into as much detail:
My essay on Isaiah 56 from a trans lens -- scroll down to the section on the webpage titled "Better than sons and daughters"
Eunuchs in Esther by Peterson Toscano
my podcast ep on Acts 8's eunuch! (ep 42 in the list)
my vid on Isaiah 56 from a disability theology perspective!
If you like books, I highly recommend Chris Paige's book OtherWise Christians -- there's a whole big section on eunuchs and how they relate to trans persons
And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant--these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
Avery shares their absolute favorite Bible passage, Isaiah 56:1-8, which encapsulates God's call to draw the circle ever wider -- to include and celebrate those whom we assume have no place in God's community.
They close with a passage from Barbara Brown Taylor's book Holy Envy that envisions the Good Shepherd as one who protects many flocks, including non-Christian ones.
Further info:
A video on Isaiah 56 read through a disability lens
And an article on Isaiah 56 read through a transgender lens (scroll to the last section of the webpage).
Eunuchs are some of scripture's ultimate outsiders, not unlike the disabled community in our own day. So let's talk about Isaiah 56:1-8, where God shares good news for eunuchs and all persons who are outcast in their societies!
[image description: an image of me, Avery, a white person with short brown hair and glasses smiling at the camera with the text “Isaiah 56 on disability: all welcome, no cure required” in glowing blue and white font overlaid on the screenshot. / end id]
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The third video of my Disabled AND Blessed YouTube series is up! This is the most important one so far and can be watched even if you haven’t watched the first two videos.
While passages like Deuteronomy 23 deny eunuchs (and others) a place in God's assembly, Isaiah 56 rejects that exclusion. Instead, God is shown not only to include but even to center those whom society excludes because of their disability. Best of all, these outcasts are celebrated and blessed just as they are -- no need to be "fixed" to fit the normative mold of the "ideal body."
For this is what the LORD says: 'To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant--to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.'
