Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 55:2
2Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest 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, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost! Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods. 3Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live. I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David. 4Since I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Wherefore do ye spendשָׁקַלshâqal · to weighH8254
- moneyכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- not breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- and your labourיְגִיעַyegîya‛ · toilH3018
- satisfiethשׇׂבְעָהώob‛âh · satietyH7654
- notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- unto me, and eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- goodטוֹבţôb · goodH2896
- and let your soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
- delightעָנֹג‛ânag · to delightH6026
- itself in fatnessדֶּ֫שֶׁןdeshen · ashesH1880
Cross-references for Isaiah 55:2
- Isaiah 44:20He feeds on ashes. His deceived mind has led him astray, and he cannot rescue himself, or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
- Jeremiah 2:13For my people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves — cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.
- Hosea 8:7Indeed, they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if they did, foreigners would swallow it up.
- Hosea 12:1Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind. He continually multiplies lies and violence. He makes a covenant with Assyria, and olive oil is carried to Egypt.
- Habakkuk 2:13Is it not from the Lord of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?
- Matthew 15:9They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands.”
- Luke 15:15Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
- Romans 9:31But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law.
- Romans 10:2I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
- Philippians 3:4although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
- Hebrews 13:9Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited.
- Isaiah 46:6Those who pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales — they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god. Then they kneel and bow down to it.
- Isaiah 51:1Listen 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 dug.
- Exodus 15:26He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
- Deuteronomy 11:13“If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship him with all your heart and 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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