Isaias (Isaiah) 58
58
1CRY, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their wicked doings and the house of Jacob their sins.
2For they seek me from day to day and desire to know my ways, as a nation that hath done justice and hath not forsaken the judgment of their God. They ask of me the judgments of justice: they are willing to approach to God.
3Why have we fasted: and thou hast not regarded? Have we humbled our souls: and thou hast not taken notice? Behold, in the day of your fast your own will is found: and you exact of all your debtors.
4Behold, you fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your cry to be heard on high.
5Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day? Is this it: To wind his head about like a circle and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Wilt thou call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress. Let them that are broken go free: and break asunder every burden.
7Deal thy bread to the hungry and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him and despise not thy own flesh.
8Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up.
9Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear; thou shalt cry, and he shall say: Here I am. If thou wilt take away the chain out of the midst of thee and cease to stretch out the finger and to speak that which profiteth not.
10When thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday.
11And the Lord will give thee rest continually and will fill thy soul with brightness and deliver thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a fountain of water whose waters shall not fail
12And the places that have been desolate for ages shall be built in thee. Thou shalt raise up the foundations of generation and generation: and thou shalt be called the repairer of the fences, turning the paths into rest.
13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy own will in my holy day and call the sabbath delightful and the holy of the Lord glorious and glorify him, while thou dost not thy own ways and thy own will is not found, to speak a word:
14Then shalt thou be delighted in the Lord, and I will lift thee up above the high places of the earth and will feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
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Isaias (Isaiah) 58: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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).
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