Isaiah 58
58
True Fasting
1The LORD says, “Shout as loud as you can! Tell my people Israel about their sins! 2They worship me every day, claiming that they are eager to know my ways and obey my laws. They say they want me to give them just laws and that they take pleasure in worshipping me.”
3The people ask, “Why should we fast if the LORD never notices? Why should we go without food if he pays no attention?”
The LORD says to them, “The truth is that at the same time as you fast, you pursue your own interests and oppress your workers. 4Your fasting makes you violent, and you quarrel and fight. Do you think this kind of fasting will make me listen to your prayers? 5When you fast, you make yourselves suffer; you bow your heads low like a blade of grass, and spread out sackcloth and ashes to lie on. Is that what you call fasting? Do you think I will be pleased with that?
6“The kind of fasting I want is this: remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. 7#Mt 25.35Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.
8“Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. 9When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond.
“If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; 10if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. 11And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never runs dry. 12Your people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on the old foundations. You will be known as the people who rebuilt the walls, who restored the ruined houses.”
The Reward for Keeping the Sabbath
13The LORD says, “If you treat the Sabbath as sacred and do not pursue your own interests on that day; if you value my holy day and honour it by not travelling, working, or talking idly on that day, 14then you will find the joy that comes from serving me. I will make you honoured all over the world, and you will enjoy the land I gave to your ancestor, Jacob. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 58: GNBUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Isaiah 58
58
The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion
1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!
Yell as loud as a trumpet!
Confront my people with their rebellious deeds;#tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”
confront Jacob’s family with their sin!#tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
2 They seek me day after day;
they want to know my requirements,#tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”
like a nation that does what is right
and does not reject the law of their God.
They ask me for just decrees;
they want to be near God.
3 They lament,#tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification. ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?
Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’
Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires,#tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”
you oppress your workers.#tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.
4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by#tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.” arguments, brawls,
and fistfights.#tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want?#tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,#tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out#tn Or “making [their] bed.” on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
6 No, this is the kind of fast I want.#tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
I want you#tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed,#tn Heb “crushed.”
and to break every burdensome yoke.
7 I want you#tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!” to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.#tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.
When you see someone naked, clothe him!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!#tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”
8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise;#tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.” sn Light here symbolizes God’s favor and restored blessing, as the immediately following context makes clear.
your restoration will quickly arrive;#tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”
your godly behavior#tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see. will go before you,
and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.#sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.
9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;
you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’
You must#tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b. remove the burdensome yoke from among you
and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.
10 You must#tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b. actively help the hungry
and feed the oppressed.#tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”
Then your light will dispel the darkness,#tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”
and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.#tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”
11 The Lord will continually lead you;
he will feed you even in parched regions.#tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.”
He will give you renewed strength,#tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.”
and you will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring that continually produces water.
12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;#tn Heb “and they will build from you ancient ruins.”
you will reestablish the ancient foundations.
You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,
the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’#tc The Hebrew text has “the one who restores paths for dwelling.” The idea of “paths to dwell in” is not a common notion. Some have proposed emending נְתִיבוֹת (nÿtivot, “paths”) to נְתִיצוֹת (nÿtitsot, “ruins”), a passive participle from נָתַץ (natats, “tear down”; see HALOT 732 s.v. *נְתִיצָה), because tighter parallelism with the preceding line is achieved. However, none of the textual sources support this emendation. The line may mean that paths must be repaired in order to dwell in the land.
13 You must#tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14. observe the Sabbath#tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”
rather than doing anything you please on my holy day.#tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”
You must look forward to the Sabbath#tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”
and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect.#tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).
You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,
and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.#tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).
14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord,#tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.
and I will give you great prosperity,#tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.
and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.”#tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.#tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC