Isaiah 55:11

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So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)

so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (ESV)

So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me void (useless, without result), without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

Isaiah 55:11 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

Old Covenant Promise, New Covenant Power

The Comparison: Rain from Heaven

Isaiah 55:11 is the conclusion of a comparison that begins in verse 10. As rain and snow come down from heaven, water the earth, and produce bread before returning, so God's word goes out and does not return empty. The comparison establishes two things. First, the word of God originates with God: it goes out from His mouth. Second, the word of God is functional: it accomplishes something in the world before the cycle completes. The rain does not merely fall and evaporate without effect. It waters the earth and produces fruit. The word of God is not merely spoken and then silent. It accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent.

Accomplish and Prosper: The Guaranteed Outcome

The Hebrew verbs in verse 11 pile up the certainty of the word's effect. It shall "accomplish" (asah) what God pleases and "prosper" (tsalach) in the thing for which it was sent. Asah is the ordinary Hebrew word for to do or to make: the word will do what God intends it to do. Tsalach carries the sense of succeeding, advancing, or breaking through: the word will advance and succeed in its mission. Both verbs together eliminate the possibility of the word failing. The question is never whether God's word will accomplish its purpose. The question is only what God's purpose is for a given sending of the word.

The context of Isaiah 55 is an invitation to the thirsty and hungry to come to God freely (vv. 1-3), grounded in the everlasting covenant made with David (v. 3). Verses 6-9 call for the wicked to return to the Lord and remind the reader that God's ways and thoughts are higher than human ways and thoughts. Verse 10-11 then grounds this entire invitation and call in the reliability of God's own word. The reason the invitation can be trusted, the reason the call to return will produce results, is that God's word does not fail to accomplish what it is sent to accomplish. The reliability of the word of God is the foundation of the entire chapter's appeal.

Application for Your Life

The Word You Pray and Speak Has God Behind It

Isaiah 55:11 is a promise about the word that proceeds from God's mouth, and by extension it applies to the believer who speaks and prays that word back. When you pray Scripture, you are not generating your own petition and hoping God agrees. You are returning His word to Him in faith, and His word does not return void. This transforms how the believer approaches intercession, personal declaration of Scripture, and the proclamation of the gospel. The word being spoken is not merely human language. It is the sent word of God, backed by the guarantee that it will accomplish what He pleases.

God's Purposes Will Not Fail

At a broader level, Isaiah 55:11 is an anchor for confidence in God's sovereign purposes. When circumstances look as though God's word has not produced the expected result, this verse declares that the word always accomplishes what God sent it to accomplish, though it may not always accomplish what the human observer expected. The timeline is God's. The purpose is God's. The guarantee is that the word succeeds in the mission for which He sent it, not necessarily in the mission the observer assigned it. Trusting Isaiah 55:11 means trusting both the power and the wisdom of the one who sends the word.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, Your word does not return to You empty. It accomplishes what You please and prospers in the thing for which You send it. I trust Your word. I will speak it, pray it, and stand on it, knowing that it is not merely my words but Your word going out from Your mouth. Where I have spoken Your word in faith and have not yet seen the result, I trust that Your word is doing what You sent it to do. Your ways are higher than my ways. Your timeline is not mine. But Your word will not fail. Let me be one who sends Your word out faithfully, trusting You for the fruit. In Jesus name. Amen.