Isaiah58
New American Standard
1“Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.
3‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.
4Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high!
5Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
6Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?
7Is it not to break your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will spring up quickly; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.
11And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
12Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
13“If, because of the Sabbath, you restrain your foot From doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,
14Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 58.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Hypocrisy reproved. (1,2) . A counterfeit and a true fast, with promises to real godliness, and, (3-12).
vv1-2
The Holy Spirit had hypocrites of every age in view. Self-love and timid Christians may say, Spare thyself; dislike to the cross and other motives will say, "Spare the rich and powerful;" but God says, "Spare not:" and we must obey God, not men. We all need earnestly to pray for God's assistance in examining ourselves. Men may go far toward heaven, yet come short; and they may go to hell with a good reputation.
vv3-12
A fast is a day to afflict the soul; if it does not express true sorrow for sin, and does not promote the putting away of sin, it is not a fast. These professors had shown sorrow on stated or occasioned fasts. But they indulged pride, covetousness, and malignant passions. To be liberal and merciful is more acceptable to God than mere fasting, which, without them, is vain and hypocritical. Many who seem humble in God's house, are hard at home, and harass their families. But no man's faith justifies, which does not work by love. Yet persons, families, neighbourhoods, churches, or nations, show repentance and sorrow for sin, by keeping a fast sincerely, and, from right motives, repenting, and doing good works. The heavy yoke of sin and oppression must be removed. As sin and sorrow dry the bones and weaken the strongest human constitution; so the duties of kindness and charity strengthen and refresh both body and mind. Those who do justly and love mercy, shall have the comfort, even in this world. Good works will bring the blessing of God, provided they are done from love to God and man, and wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit. 13,14 The sabbath is a sign between God and his professing people; his appointing it is a sign of his favour to them; and their observing it is a sign of their obedience to him. We must turn from travelling on that day; from doing our pleasure on that holy day, without the control and restraint of conscience; or from indulging in the pleasures of sense. On sabbath days we must not follow our callings, or our pleasures. In all we say and do, we must put a difference between this day and other days. Even in Old Testament times the sabbath was called the Lord's day, and is fitly called so still; and for a further reason, it is the Lord Christ's day, Rev. 1:10. If we thus remember the sabbath day to keep it holy, we shall have the comfort and profit of it, and have reason to say, It is good to draw near to God.
Key Words
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
גָּרוֹן: the throat (as roughened by swallowing)
אַל: not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing
חָשַׂךְ: to restrain or (reflex.) refrain; by implication, to refuse, spare, preserve; to observe
רוּם: to be high actively, to rise or raise (in various applications, literally or figuratively)
קוֹל: a voice or sound
שׁוֹפָר: a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn
נָגַד: properly, to front, i.e. stand boldly out opposite; by implication (causatively), to manifest; figuratively, to announce (always by word of mouth to one present); specifically, to expose, predict, explain, praise
עַם: a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
פֶּשַׁע: a revolt (national, moral or religious)
Cross References
Isaiah 58Uses the identical technical Torah phrase 'afflict your soul' to define the Day of Atonement fast.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Historical example of Israel refusing to let Hebrew slaves go free and break every yoke.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Nehemiah forces the nobles to restore properties and exact no interest, loofing bands of wickedness.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Christ's judgment criteria of feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, and covering the naked.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Direct verbal parallel regarding God's glory going before and serving as a rearward ('rereward').
Supported by JFB
Parallels the hypocritical pleasure of hearing God's words without putting them into practice.
Supported by JFB
Zechariah similarly questions whether the people's self-imposed fasts were truly for God or themselves.
Supported by JFB
The historical prototype of God's glory acting as Israel's rear defense ('rereward') from Egypt.
Supported by JFB
A poetic parallel of life's light rising and breaking forth brighter than the noonday.
Supported by JFB
Jezebel's infamous fast, used as a cloak for murder, illustrating 'fasting for strife'.
Supported by JFB
Parallel promise of immediate divine answer: 'before they call, I will answer'.
Supported by JFB
Prophetic parallel of rebuilding the ancient ruins and raising up former devastations.
New Testament transition from the Sabbath of delight to the 'Lord's day'.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Jeremiah's extended warning against carrying burdens and doing business on the Sabbath day.
Echoes the promise of riding on the high places of the earth as covenant heritage.
Supported by JFB