Isaiah 58:5

Isaiah 58:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord?

Context of Isaiah 58:5

3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You do not see it? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Hear this [O Israel], on the day of your fast [when you should be grieving for your sins] you find something you desire [to do], And you force your hired servants to work [instead of stopping all work, as the law teaches]. 4The facts are that you fast only for strife and brawling and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You do not fast as you do today to make your voice heard on high. Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]? Is it only to bow down his head like a reed And to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]? Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the Lord? 6[Rather] is this not the fast which I choose, To undo the bonds of wickedness, To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke, To let the oppressed go free And break apart every [enslaving] yoke? 7Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not to hide yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood?

Isaiah 58:5 word by word

הֲכָזֶ֗ה יִֽהְיֶה֙ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵ֔הוּ י֛וֹם עַנּ֥וֹת אָדָ֖ם נַפְשׁ֑וֹ הֲלָכֹ֨ף כְּאַגְמֹ֜ן רֹאשׁ֗וֹ וְשַׂ֤ק וָאֵ֙פֶר֙ יַצִּ֔יעַ הֲלָזֶה֙ תִּקְרָא־צ֔וֹם וְי֥וֹם רָצ֖וֹן לַיהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Is it such a fastצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
• that I have chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• a dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• for a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• to afflictעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
• his soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• to bow downכָּפַףkâphaph · to bendH3721
• his headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• as a bulrushאַגְמֹן'agmôn · bulrushH100
• and to spreadיָצַעyatsa‛ · to layH3331
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• and ashesאֵ֫פֶר'êpher · ashesH665
• wilt thou callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• and an acceptableרָצוֹןrâtsôn râtsôn · acceptanceH7522
• to the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Isaiah 58:5

• 2 Chronicles 20:3Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
• Ezra 10:6Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib [and spent the night there]. He did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the [former] exiles’ faithlessness.
• Nehemiah 9:1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with dirt on their heads.
• Esther 4:3In each and every province that the decree and law of the king reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.
• Daniel 9:3So I directed my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
• Zechariah 7:5“Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years [that you were in exile], was it actually for Me that you fasted?
• Isaiah 58:3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You do not see it? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Hear this [O Israel], on the day of your fast [when you should be grieving for your sins] you find something you desire [to do], And you force your hired servants to work [instead of stopping all work, as the law teaches].
• Leviticus 16:29“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month (nearly October) on the tenth day of the month you shall humble yourselves [by fasting] and not do any work, whether the native-born or the stranger who lives temporarily among you;
• 1 Kings 21:27Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning).
• 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked [at him], and he had on sackcloth underneath [his royal robe] next to his skin.
• Job 2:8And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).
• Jonah 3:5The people of Nineveh believed and trusted in God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth [in penitent mourning], from the greatest even to the least of them.
• Isaiah 49:8This is what the Lord says, “In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep watch over You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion and give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands,
• Isaiah 61:2To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God, To comfort all who mourn,
• Psalms 69:13But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable and opportune time; O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].
• Luke 4:19to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”

Commentaries on Isaiah 58:5

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Is it such a fast that I have chosen? - Is this such a mode of fasting as I have appointed and as I approve? A day for a man to afflict his soul? - Margin, To afflict his soul for a day.‘ The reading in the text is the more correct; and the idea is, that the pain and inconvenience experienced by the abstinence from food was not the end in view in fasting. This seems to have been the mistake which they made, that they supposed there was something…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-12Verses 3-12 A fast is a day to afflict the soul; if it does not express true sorrow for sin, and does not promote the putting away of sin, it is not a fast. These professors had shown sorrow on stated or occasioned fasts. But they indulged pride, covetousness, and malignant passions. To be liberal and merciful is more acceptable to God than mere fasting, which, without them, is vain and hypocritical. Many who seem humble in God's house, are hard at home…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5This passage uses strong language to show the problem with the people’s fasting. Their fasting was only outward religious behavior. They did not truly repent or do what is right. Fasting without sincere hearts and righteous actions is empty. It is only for show. People wore sackcloth and put ashes on their heads to show sorrow and mourning. acceptable to the LORD?: The people wrongly believed that God would bless them if they performed the correct…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. for a man to afflict his soul--The pain felt by abstinence is not the end to be sought, as if it were meritorious; it is of value only in so far as it leads us to amend our ways (Is 58:6, 7). bow ... head ... sackcloth--to affect the outward tokens, so as to "appear to men to fast" (Mt 6:17, 18; 1Ki 21:27; Es 4:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 58:5

• Bulrush
• Fasting
• Hypocrisy

In the dictionaries

• Aloud
• Bulrush
• Light
• Abstinence
• Commentaries
• Guilt
• Head
• Isaiah
• Rush
• Saviour

Commentaries on Isaiah 58

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings