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

3They say to me, “We have fasted to please you, but you do not see it. We make ourselves humble and you do not even look.” Listen to me! Yes you fast, but you do it to please yourselves. At the same time as you are fasting, you are being cruel to the people who work for you. 4Yes! While you are fasting, you are also quarrelling and you are fighting. You hit each other with your fists. If you want your prayers to reach me in heaven, you cannot continue to fast in the way that you do today. The way that you fast does not please me at all: You make yourselves humble for a day. You bend down your head, like a piece of weak grass. You lie down on sackcloth and ashes. Do you think that you are really fasting when you do that? Do you think that it pleases me, the Lord? 6This is the way that I want you to fast: You must remove the chains from prisoners who should not be in prison. You must stop being cruel to the people who work for you. You must let people who are in pain go free. You must break the yoke of work that is too hard for weak people. 7Instead, share your food with hungry people. Give a place in your home to poor people who have no home. Give clothes to people who have nothing to wear. If people in your own family need help, do not refuse to help them.

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 20:3Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast.
• Ezra 10:6Then Ezra went away from the front of God's temple. He went to the room of Eliashib's son, Jehohanan. While Ezra stayed there, he did not eat any food or drink any water. He was still very sad because the people had not been faithful to God.
• Nehemiah 9:1On the 24th day of the same month, the Israelite people met together. They did not eat or drink. They wore sackcloth and they put dust on their heads.
• Esther 4:3Jews who lived in all the regions of Xerxes' kingdom heard the king's command. So they were very sad. They were weeping and they were fasting. Many of them lay on sackcloth and ashes.
• Daniel 9:3So I turned to my Lord God, to ask him for help. I prayed to him and I ate no food. I wore clothes of rough sackcloth. I put ashes on myself to show that I was upset.
• Zechariah 7:5He said, ‘Say this to all the people in this country and to the priests: “You lived in Babylon for many years. You ate no food and you were sad in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But you did not do this for me.
• Isaiah 58:3They say to me, “We have fasted to please you, but you do not see it. We make ourselves humble and you do not even look.” Listen to me! Yes you fast, but you do it to please yourselves. At the same time as you are fasting, you are being cruel to the people who work for you.
• Leviticus 16:29On the tenth day of the seventh month, Israel's people must not eat any food. This is a rule that you must obey for all time. The people who are travelling with them must not eat any food. None of them must do any work.
• 1 Kings 21:27When Ahab heard Elijah's message, he tore his clothes into pieces. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he did not eat any food. He even wore sackcloth when he slept on his bed. He walked slowly with a sad face.
• 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman's words, he was very upset. He tore his clothes. As he walked along the wall, people could see what he was wearing. They saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his other clothes.
• Job 2:8Job was very upset and he sat down among some ashes. He used a piece of a broken pot to remove the bad bits of skin.
• Jonah 3:5The people who lived in Nineveh believed God's message. They told everyone that they must not eat any food for several days. Everyone had to wear sackcloth to show that they were sorry. The most important people and the ordinary people all did that.
• Isaiah 49:8This is what the Lord says: ‘I will answer your prayers at the time that I have chosen to help you. Yes, I will come to save you on that day. I will keep you safe, so that I can make a covenant with people through you. You will make the land safe again. People will return to live there, in places that had become empty.
• Isaiah 61:2He has sent me to say, ‘This is the year when the Lord will be kind to his people.’ It is the time when our God will punish our enemies. He has sent me to comfort people who are weeping because they are sad.
• Psalms 69:13But as for me, Lord, I continue to pray to you. Please answer me at the right time. Be kind to me, God, because of your faithful love. Save me, as you have promised to do.
• Luke 4:19I must tell everyone, “This is the year when God will be kind to his people.” ’

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