Bible Commentary

And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 11. the Lord shall guide thee ] Cf. ch. Isa 57:18 “I will lead him,” the same verb in … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:11”

And [if] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noonday: 10. draw out thy soul to the hungry ] A very peculiar expression. The most natural sense would be “let thy desire go out” &c.; but … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:10”

Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am]. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; Then shalt thou call – The sense is, that if we go before God renouncing all … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:9”

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rearward. Then shall thy light – (See the notes at Isa 44:7). The idea here is, that if they were faithful in the discharge … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:8”

[Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 7. Comp. Eze 18:7 f., 16 f.; Job 31:13 ff. the poor that … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:7”

[Is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 6, 7. Description of the true fast in which Jehovah delights. The duties enjoined fall under two heads: (1) abstinence from every … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:6”

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? [is it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 5. Should such be the fast … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:5”

Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as [ye do this] day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 4. ye fast for strife and contention (R.V.)] The fasting made them as irritable as Arabs in the month of Ramadan; it … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:4”

Wherefore have we fasted, [say they], and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. 3. The first half of the verse expresses the people’s sense of disappointment at the failure of their efforts … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:3”

Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 2. The people indeed are zealous in the performance of their external religious duties, and … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:2”