Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 55:2
2Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.
Isaiah 55:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
- New International Version (NIV)Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Context of Isaiah 55:2
1“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. 3Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant— My loving devotion promised to David. 4Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.
Read all of Isaiah 55Isaiah 55:2 word by word
לָ֤מָּה תִשְׁקְלוּ־כֶ֙סֶף֙ בְּֽלוֹא־לֶ֔חֶם וִיגִיעֲכֶ֖ם בְּל֣וֹא לְשָׂבְעָ֑ה שִׁמְע֨וּ שָׁמ֤וֹעַ אֵלַי֙ וְאִכְלוּ־ט֔וֹב וְתִתְעַנַּ֥ג בַּדֶּ֖שֶׁן נַפְשְׁכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
- Whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
- spendשָׁקַלshâqal · to weighH8254
- moneyכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- on that which is notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- and your laborיְגִיעַyegîya‛ · toilH3018
- satisfyשׇׂבְעָהώob‛âh · satietyH7654
- Listen carefullyשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- to Meאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- and eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- what is goodטוֹבţôb · goodH2896
- and your soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
- will delightעָנֹג‛ânag · to delightH6026
- in the richest of foodsדֶּ֫שֶׁןdeshen · ashesH1880
Cross-references for Isaiah 55:2
- Isaiah 44:20He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
- Jeremiah 2:13“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns— broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- Hosea 8:7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
- Hosea 12:1Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
- Habakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
- Matthew 15:9They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
- Luke 15:15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
- Romans 9:31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
- Romans 10:2For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
- Philippians 3:4though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
- Hebrews 13:9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.
- Isaiah 46:6They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.
- Isaiah 51:1“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.
- Exodus 15:26saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
- Deuteronomy 11:13So if you carefully obey the commandments I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
- Psalms 34:11Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Commentaries on Isaiah 55:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Wherefore do ye spend - Why should ye be so zealously attached to a doctrine from which your souls derive neither comfort nor nourishment?Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good: Responding positively to God satisfies one’s spiritual, social, and physical being (see 1:19; 58:13–14; Proverbs 4:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. not bread--(Ha 2:13). "Bread of deceit" (Pr 20:17). Contrast this with the "bread of life" (Joh 6:32, 35; also Lu 14:16-20). satisfieth not--(Ec 1:8; 4:8). hearken ... and eat--When two imperatives are joined, the second expresses the consequence of obeying the command in the first (Ge 42:18). By hearkening ye shall eat. So in Is 55:1, "buy and eat." By buying, and so making it your own, ye shall eat, that is, experimentally enjoy it (Joh 6:53)…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 55:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 55
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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