Isaiah 55:2

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“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. 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 delight yourself in abundance. 3Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David. 4Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, A leader and commander for the peoples.

Isaiah 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
• not breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
• And your wagesיְגִיעַyegîya‛ · toilH3018
• for whatשׇׂבְעָהώob‛âh · satietyH7654
• Listenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• whatטוֹבţôb · goodH2896
• delightעָנֹג‛ânag · to delightH6026
• yourselfנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
• in abundanceדֶּ֫שֶׁןdeshen · ashesH1880

Cross-references for Isaiah 55:2

• Isaiah 44:20He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
• Jeremiah 2:13“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.
• Hosea 8:7For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.
• Hosea 12:1Ephraim feeds on wind, And pursues the east wind continually; He multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt.
• Habakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?
• Matthew 15:9But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”
• Luke 15:15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
• Romans 9:31but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.
• Romans 10:2For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
• Philippians 3:4although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:
• Hebrews 13:9Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
• Isaiah 46:6Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it.
• Isaiah 51:1“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug.
• Exodus 15:26And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”
• Deuteronomy 11:13“It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul,
• Psalms 34:11Come, you 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

• Bread
• Church
• Desire
• Diligence
• Gospel
• Hunger
• Jesus, the Christ
• Money
• Peace
• Regeneration
• Salvation

In the dictionaries

• Fatness
• Near
• Spend
• Void
• Diligence; Diligent; Diligently
• Isaiah
• Logos
• Saviour

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