King James Version
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Isaiah Institute Translation
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Masoretic Text
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Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. | 1 | Proclaim it aloud without restraint;raise your voice like a trumpet!Declare to my people their transgressions,to the house of Jacob its sins. | קְרָא בְגָרוֹן אַל־תַּחְשֹׂךְ כַּשּׁוֹפָר הָרֵם קוֹלֶךָ וְהַגֵּד לְעַמִּי פִּשְׁעָם וּלְבֵית יַעֲקֹב חַטֹּאתָם ׃ |
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 | Yet they importune me daily,eager to learn my ways,like a nation practicing righteousnessand not forsaking the precepts of its God.They inquire of me concerning correct ordinances,desiring to draw nearer to God: | וְאוֹתִי יוֹם יוֹם יִדְרֹשׁוּן וְדַעַת דְּרָכַי יֶחְפָּצוּן כְּגוֹי אֲשֶׁר־צְדָקָה עָשָׂה וּמִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהָיו לֹא עָזָב יִשְׁאָלוּנִי מִשְׁפְּטֵי־צֶדֶק קִרְבַת אֱלֹהִים יֶחְפָּצוּן ׃ |
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 labours. | 3 | Why, when we fast, do you not notice?We afflict our bodies and you remain indifferent!It is because on your fast day you pursue your own endsand constrain all who toil for you. | לָמָּה צַּמְנוּ וְלֹא רָאִיתָ עִנִּינוּ נַפְשֵׁנוּ וְלֹא תֵדָע הֵן בְּיוֹם צֹמְכֶם תִּמְצְאוּ־חֵפֶץ וְכָל־עַצְּבֵיכֶם תִּנְגֹּשׂוּ ׃ |
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 | You fast amid strife and contention,striking out savagely with the fist.Your present fasts are not suchas to make your voice heard on high. | הֵן לְרִיב וּמַצָּה תָּצוּמוּ וּלְהַכּוֹת בְּאֶגְרֹף רֶשַׁע לֹא־תָצוּמוּ כַיּוֹם לְהַשְׁמִיעַ בַּמָּרוֹם קוֹלְכֶם ׃ |
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 | Is this the manner of fasting I have required,just a time for men to torment themselves?Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reedand making one’s bed of sackcloth and ashes?Do you call that a fast,a day of Jehovah’s good graces? | הֲכָזֶה יִהְיֶה צוֹם אֶבְחָרֵהוּ יוֹם עַנּוֹת אָדָם נַפְשׁוֹ הֲלָכֹף כְּאַגְמֹן רֹאשׁוֹ וְשַׂק וָאֵפֶר יַצִּיעַ הֲלָזֶה תִּקְרָא־צוֹם וְיוֹם רָצוֹן לַיהוָה ׃ |
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 | Is not this the fast I require:To release from wrongful bondage,to untie the harness of the yoke,to set the oppressed at libertyand abolish all forms of subjection? | הֲלוֹא זֶה צוֹם אֶבְחָרֵהוּ פַּתֵּחַ חַרְצֻבּוֹת רֶשַׁע הַתֵּר אֲגֻדּוֹת מוֹטָה וְשַׁלַּח רְצוּצִים חָפְשִׁים וְכָל־מוֹטָה תְּנַתֵּקוּ ׃ |
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 | Is it not to share your food with the hungry,to bring home the wretchedly poor,and when you see men underclad to clothe them,and not to neglect your own kin? | הֲלוֹא פָרֹס לָרָעֵב לַחְמֶךָ וַעֲנִיִּים מְרוּדִים תָּבִיא בָיִת כִּי־תִרְאֶה עָרֹם וְכִסִּיתוֹ וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ לֹא תִתְעַלָּם ׃ |
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 rereward. | 8 | Then shall your light break through like the dawnand your healing speedily appear;your righteousness will go before you,and the glory of Jehovah will be your rearguard. | אָז יִבָּקַע כַּשַּׁחַר אוֹרֶךָ וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ מְהֵרָה תִצְמָח וְהָלַךְ לְפָנֶיךָ צִדְקֶךָ כְּבוֹד יְהוָה יַאַסְפֶךָ ׃ |
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; | 9 | Then, should you call, Jehovah will respond;should you cry, he will say, I am here.Indeed, if you will banish servitude from among you,and the pointing finger and offensive speech, | אָז תִּקְרָא וַיהוָה יַעֲנֶה תְּשַׁוַּע וְיֹאמַר הִנֵּנִי אִם־תָּסִיר מִתּוֹכְךָ מוֹטָה שְׁלַח אֶצְבַּע וְדַבֶּר־אָוֶן ׃ |
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 | if you will give of your own to the hungryand satisfy the needs of the oppressed,then shall your light dawn amid darknessand your twilight become as the noonday. | וְתָפֵק לָרָעֵב נַפְשֶׁךָ וְנֶפֶשׁ נַעֲנָה תַּשְׂבִּיעַ וְזָרַח בַּחֹשֶׁךְ אוֹרֶךָ וַאֲפֵלָתְךָ כַּצָּהֳרָיִם ׃ |
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 | Jehovah will direct you continually;he will satisfy your needs in the dearthand bring vigor to your limbs.And you will become like a well-watered garden,like a spring of unfailing waters. | וְנָחֲךָ יְהוָה תָּמִיד וְהִשְׂבִּיעַ בְּצַחְצָחוֹת נַפְשֶׁךָ וְעַצְמֹתֶיךָ יַחֲלִיץ וְהָיִיתָ כְּגַן רָוֶה וּכְמוֹצָא מַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יְכַזְּבוּ מֵימָיו ׃ |
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. | 12 | They who came out of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;you will restore the foundations of generations ago.You shall be called a rebuilder of fallen walls,a restorer of streets for resettlement. | וּבָנוּ מִמְּךָ חָרְבוֹת עוֹלָם מוֹסְדֵי דוֹר־וָדוֹר תְּקוֹמֵם וְקֹרָא לְךָ גֹּדֵר פֶּרֶץ מְשֹׁבֵב נְתִיבוֹת לָשָׁבֶת ׃ |
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: | 13 | If you will keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath—from achieving your own ends on my holy day—and consider the Sabbath a delight,the holy day of Jehovah venerable,and if you will honor itby refraining from your everyday pursuits—from occupying yourselves with your own affairsand speaking of business matters— | אִם־תָּשִׁיב מִשַּׁבָּת רַגְלֶךָ עֲשׂוֹת חֲפָצֶיךָ בְּיוֹם קָדְשִׁי וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עֹנֶג לִקְדוֹשׁ יְהוָה מְכֻבָּד וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת דְּרָכֶיךָ מִמְּצוֹא חֶפְצְךָ וְדַבֵּר דָּבָר ׃ |
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. | 14 | then shall you delight in Jehovah,and I will make you traverse the heights of the earthand nourish you with the heritage of Jacob your father.By his mouth Jehovah has spoken it. | אָז תִּתְעַנַּג עַל־יְהוָה וְהִרְכַּבְתִּיךָ עַל־בָּמֳותֵי (בָּמֳתֵי) אָרֶץ וְהַאֲכַלְתִּיךָ נַחֲלַת יַעֲקֹב אָבִיךָ כִּי פִּי יְהוָה דִּבֵּר ׃ |
וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אָחָז בֶּן־יוֹתָם בֶּן־עֻזִּיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה עָלָה רְצִין מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם וּפֶקַח בֶּן־רְמַלְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל יְרוּשָׁלִַם לַמִּלְחָמָה עָלֶיהָ וְלֹא יָכֹל לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ ׃ | |
King James Version
KJV
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Isaiah Institute Translation
IIT
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And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. |
When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not overpower it. |
Apocalyptic Commentary |
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Two generations of kings from the time Isaiah receives his prophetic commission, an expansionist Assyria threatens to invade the kingdom of Aram (Syria), the ten-tribed Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah and to annex them into its empire. When King Ahaz of Judah refuses to join Aram and Israel in an alliance to resist Assyria, they invade the Southern Kingdom to overthrow Ahaz and put a puppet ruler on his throne who will join their coalition. Ahaz, moreover, becomes an important type in the Book of Isaiah of an end-time ruler who proves disloyal to Israel’s God. |
Chapter Index
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Apocalyptic Commentary
Isaiah 58
As the task of Jehovah’s servant is to restore justice in the earth (Isaiah 42:1-4), he informs the Jacob/Israel category of Jehovah’s people of its sins and transgressions (Isaiah 48:1). In that role, he acts as Jehovah’s voice to his people: “Who among you fears Jehovah and heeds the voice of his servant” (Isaiah 50:10). He is likewise the trumpet that announces Jehovah’s coming and the ensign that rallies them: “All you who live in the world, you inhabitants of the earth, look to the ensign when it is lifted up in the mountains; heed the trumpet when sounded!” (Isaiah 18:3; emphasis added; cf. 62:10-11).
The Jacob/Israel category of Jehovah’s people practices an outward form of worship devoid of substance. Going through the motions of religious observance—as if that makes them righteous before God—they still lack true devotion. They fast from food and observe the Sabbath (v 13) but without it benefiting them. When they complain, he responds through his servant—their exemplar of righteousness—that the root of their problem is their transgressing his law and word: “It is your iniquities that separate you from your God; your sins hide his face, so that he does not hear you” (Isaiah 59:2; cf. 1:15).
Those who don’t heed Jehovah’s voice—his servant (v 1)—who practice their own form of righteousness instead of emulating Jehovah’s righteousness (v 2), can’t benefit from the spiritual salvation wrought by Jehovah nor from the temporal salvation obtained by his servant. Jehovah doesn’t hear them (v 4) and his servant can’t intercede effectually with Jehovah on their behalf as did Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:15-20) so long as they don’t repent. Of itself, fasting is good—drawing a soul nearer to God—but not when it is ostentatious and isn’t backed up by love of God and neighbor, including employees.
Instead of being a source of oppression to others (v 4), Jehovah’s people should release others from oppression: “Learn to do good; demand justice, stand up for the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:17; cf. 56:1-2). Instead of emulating the archtyrant and his kind—who are a yoke around people’s necks (Isaiah 10:27; 14:25)—they should emulate Jehovah’s servant, who releases them from bondage (Isaiah 42:7; 49:9). As Jehovah cares for the poor (Isaiah 14:30; 25:4), and as he frees his people from tyranny (Isaiah 49:24-25; 51:13-14), so should they if they would enjoy his salvation (vv 8-14; Isaiah 1:15-20).
Although they have sinned against Jehovah and oppressed his people, those who repent and live by his definition of righteousness may yet receive healing and participate in his deliverance. With the coming of Jehovah’s servant, those who repent experience a new dawn and a reversal of their circumstances from curse to blessing. Jehovah sends him as a light to enlighten them in his law and word (Isaiah 2:3-5; 9:2; 42:6; 49:6; 60:1-2; 62:1). Those who follow righteousness as the servant exemplifies it (Isaiah 41:2; 46:11-13; 51:1, 7; 56:1-2; 61:1-3; 62:1), righteousness leads in the new exodus to Zion.
In many ways, calling upon Jehovah divides the righteous from the wicked. Those who don’t call upon him are the Jacob/Israel category and levels lower: “I was available to those who did not inquire of me; I was accessible to those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here am I; I am here,’ to a nation that did not invoke my name” (Isaiah 65:1; cf. 43:22). Those who call upon Jehovah emulate his servant: “I have raised up one from the north who calls on my name” (Isaiah 41:25; cf. 55:4-6). As they do so, Jehovah assures them “he will graciously respond at the cry of your voice” (Isaiah 30:19; cf. 38:5).
The human virtues that define Jehovah’s righteousness involve an entire paradigm shift away from tolerating servitude, abusiveness, offensive language, and all such symptoms of wickedness to serving others who are in need. With the advent of the servant—Jehovah’s light (v 8)—those whose darkness turns to light live to see deliverance from darkness—the archtyrant: “Arise, shine, your light has dawned; the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you! Although darkness covers the earth, and a thick mist the peoples, upon you Jehovah will shine; over you his glory shall be visible” (Isaiah 60:1-2; cf. 4:5-6).
Persons who walk by Jehovah’s light and emulate his righteousness (v 8) receive personal guidance from God. In the same way that his holy Spirit empowers his servant (Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; 48:16; 61:1), so it empowers them: “Your ears shall hear words from behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it!’ should you turn left or right” (Isaiah 30:21; cf. 32:15; 44:3; 59:21). Curse reversals may proceed all the way to physical regeneration and the elimination of death: “No more shall there be infants alive but a few days, or the aged who do not live out their years” (Isaiah 65:20; cf. 25:7-8; 26:19; 66:14).
Jehovah’s returnees to Zion rebuild the ancient ruins under the direction of his servant: “Who fulfills the word of his servant, accomplishes the aims of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be reinhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt, their ruins I will restore’” (Isaiah 44:26); “They will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise up the old waste places; they will renew the desolate cities demolished generations ago” (Isaiah 61:4); “Jehovah is comforting Zion, bringing solace to all her ruins; he is making her wilderness like Eden, her desert as the garden of Jehovah.” (Isaiah 51:3).
One of the gravest transgressions with which the servant confronts Jehovah’s people (v 1) is their desecration of the Sabbath. Even Sabbath meetings aren’t acceptable when they don’t spring from personal righteousness: “As for convening meetings at the New Month and on the Sabbath, wickedness with the solemn gathering I cannot approve” (Isaiah 1:13). What characterizes Jehovah’s servants is that they keep the Sabbath Day holy (Isaiah 56:6). As a “sign” between Jehovah and his people (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20), Sabbath observance is a sure indicator of their loyalty to his covenant.
Individuals who attain higher spiritual categories spontaneously delight in Jehovah: “I rejoice exceedingly in Jehovah; my soul delights in my God. For he clothes me in garments of salvation, he arrays me in a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). As they become privileged to receive Jehovah’s highest covenant blessings, they attain his view of the world and their place in it: “Your eyes shall behold the King in his glory and view the expanse of the earth” (Isaiah 33:17). Jehovah’s servant—his mouth—expedites their spiritual ascent that ultimately leads to their physical regeneration (v 11; Isaiah 40:31).