Isaiah 58 (NET)

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;1

confront Jacob’s family with their sin!2

2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements,3

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,4 ‘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,5

you oppress your workers.6

4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by7 arguments, brawls,

and fistfights.8

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?9

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,10

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out11 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.12

I want you13 to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed,14

and to break every burdensome yoke.

7 I want you15 to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.16

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!17

8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise;18

your restoration will quickly arrive;19

your godly behavior20 will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.21

9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must22 remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

10 You must23 actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed.24

Then your light will dispel the darkness,25

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.26

11 The Lord will continually lead you;

he will feed you even in parched regions.27

He will give you renewed strength,28

and you will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring that continually produces water.

12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;29

you will reestablish the ancient foundations.

You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,

the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’30

13 You must31 observe the Sabbath32

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day.33

You must look forward to the Sabbath34

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect.35

You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.36

14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord,37

and I will give you great prosperity,38

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.”39

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.40

158:1tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.” 258:1tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). 358:2tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.” 458:3tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification. 558:3tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.” 658:3tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב. 758:4tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.” 858:4tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.” 958:5tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.” 1058:5tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. 1158:5tn Or “making [their] bed.” 1258:6tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification. 1358:6tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. 1458:6tn Heb “crushed.” 1558:7tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!” 1658:7tn 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. 1758:7tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.” 1858:8tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”sn Light here symbolizes God’s favor and restored blessing, as the immediately following context makes clear. 1958:8tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.” 2058:8tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see. 2158:8sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence. 2258:9tn 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. 2358:10tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b. 2458:10tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.” 2558:10tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.” 2658:10tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.” 2758:11tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.” 2858:11tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.” 2958:12tn Heb “and they will build from you ancient ruins.” 3058:12tc 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. 3158:13tn 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. 3258:13tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.” 3358:13tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.” 3458:13tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.” 3558:13tn 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). 3658:13tn 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). 3758:14tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4. 3858:14tn 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. 3958:14tn 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). 4058:14tn 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).