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— Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth [you], and exact all your labours. 4Behold, ye have fasted for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye do not at present fast, to cause your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul, — that he should bow down his head as a bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Jehovah? 6Is not this the fast which I have chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, and to send forth free the crushed, and that ye break every yoke? 7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring to thy house the needy wanderers; when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

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

• fastצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
• chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• afflictעָנָה‛ânâh · be occupiedH6031
• soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• downכָּפַףkâphaph · to bendH3721
• headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• bulrushאַגְמֹן'agmôn · bulrushH100
• spreadיָצַעyatsa‛ · to layH3331
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• ashesאֵ֫פֶר'êpher · ashesH665
• callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121

Cross-references for Isaiah 58:5

• 2 Chronicles 20:3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek Jehovah, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
• Ezra 10:6And Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he ate no bread and drank no water; for he mourned because of the unfaithfulness of them that had been carried away.
• Nehemiah 9:1And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.
• Esther 4:3And in every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing: many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
• Daniel 9:3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes;
• Zechariah 7:5Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, [even] unto me?
• Isaiah 58:3— Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth [you], and exact all your labours.
• Leviticus 16:29And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you. In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you;
• 1 Kings 21:27And it came to pass when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
• 2 Kings 6:30And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his garments; and he was passing by upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
• Job 2:8And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat among the ashes.
• Jonah 3:5And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
• Isaiah 49:8Thus saith Jehovah: In a time of acceptance have I answered thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
• Isaiah 61:2to proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
• Psalms 69:13But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, Jehovah, in an acceptable time: O God, in the abundance of thy loving-kindness answer me, according to the truth of thy salvation:
• Luke 4:19to preach [the] acceptable year of [the] Lord.

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