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 Living Translation (NLT)You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?

Context of Isaiah 58:5

3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 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? 6“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? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your 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

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 20:3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
• Ezra 10:6Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.
• Nehemiah 9:1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.
• Esther 4:3And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
• Daniel 9:3Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
• Zechariah 7:5“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?
• Isaiah 58:3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.
• Leviticus 16:29“This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.
• 1 Kings 21:27So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.
• 2 Kings 6:30Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.
• Job 2:8And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
• Jonah 3:5So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
• Isaiah 49:8Thus says the Lord: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;
• Isaiah 61:2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
• Psalms 69:13But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
• Luke 4:19To proclaim 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