Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
• New International Version (NIV)“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

Context of Isaiah 58:6

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. 5The 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? This 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. 8Then God's light will shine on you, like the sun's light at dawn. Very soon, your troubles will go away. The good things that you do to help others will be clear for everyone to see. And the Lord will use his great power to keep you safe.

Isaiah 58:6 word by word

הֲל֣וֹא זֶה֮ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵהוּ֒ פַּתֵּ֙חַ֙ חַרְצֻבּ֣וֹת רֶ֔שַׁע הַתֵּ֖ר אֲגֻדּ֣וֹת מוֹטָ֑ה וְשַׁלַּ֤ח רְצוּצִים֙ חָפְשִׁ֔ים וְכָל־מוֹטָ֖ה תְּנַתֵּֽקוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• not this the fastצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
• that I have chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• to looseפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
• the bandsחַרְצֻבָּהchartsûbbâh · bondH2784
• of wickednessרֶ֫שַׁעresha‛ · wickednessH7562
• to undoנָתַרnâthar · to freeH5425
• the heavyמוֹטָהmôţâh · yokeH4133
• burdensאֲגֻדָּה'ăgûddâh · bandH92
• and to let the oppressedרָצַץrâtsats · to crushH7533
• goשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: let goH7971
• freeחׇפְשִׁיchophshîy · freeH2670
• and that ye breakנָתַקnâthaq · to tearH5423

Cross-references for Isaiah 58:6

• Nehemiah 5:10I myself have agreed to lend poor people money and food. My family and my friends have done the same thing. But we must not make those poor people pay back more to us.
• Jeremiah 34:8At another time, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message for King Zedekiah. Zedekiah had made an agreement with the people of Jerusalem. They all agreed to let their slaves go free.
• Micah 3:2But you hate what is good. And you love what is bad. You would like to tear the skin off my people, and pull the meat from their bones.
• 1 Timothy 6:1All slaves should know that it is right to respect their masters. Then other people will not insult God's name or the message that we teach.

Commentaries on Isaiah 58:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Let the oppressed go free - How can any nation pretend to fast or worship God at all, or dare to profess that they believe in the existence of such a Being, while they carry on the slave trade, and traffic in the souls, blood, and bodies, of men! O ye most flagitious of knaves, and worst of hypocrites, cast off at once the mask of religion; and deepen not your endless perdition by professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, while ye continue in this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Is not this the fast that I have chosen? - Fasting is right and proper; but that which God approves will prompt to, and will be followed by, deeds of justice, kindness, charity. The prophet proceeds to specify very particularly what God required, and when the observance of seasons of fasting would be acceptable to him. To loose the bands of wickedness - This is the first thing to be done in order that their fasting might be acceptable to the Lord. The…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. 6-7True fasting makes people aware of injustice and oppression. It encourages them to help those in need (see Isaiah 42:7; Matthew 25:35–36; James 1:27).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. loose ... bands of wickedness--that is, to dissolve every tie wherewith one has unjustly bound his fellow men (Le 25:49, &c.). Servitude, a fraudulent contract, &c. undo ... heavy burdens--Hebrew, "loose the bands of the yoke." oppressed--literally, "the broken." The expression, "to let go free," implies that those "broken" with the yoke of slavery, are meant (Ne 5:10-12; Jr 34:9-11, 14, 16). Jerome interprets it, broken with poverty; bankrupt.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 58:6

• Afflicted
• Alms
• Beneficence
• Burden
• Duty
• Fasting
• Hospitality
• Neighbor
• Oppression
• Philanthropy
• Righteousness
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Aloud
• Light
• Abstinence
• Band
• Bruise; Bruised
• Commentaries
• Guilt
• Heavy; Heaviness
• Isaiah
• 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