Isaiah 58:2

Isaiah 58:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
• New International Version (NIV)For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.

Context of Isaiah 58:2

1“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. 3‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. 4What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.

Isaiah 58:2 word by word

וְאוֹתִ֗י י֥וֹם יוֹם֙ יִדְרֹשׁ֔וּן וְדַ֥עַת דְּרָכַ֖י יֶחְפָּצ֑וּן כְּג֞וֹי אֲשֶׁר־צְדָקָ֣ה עָשָׂ֗ה וּמִשְׁפַּ֤ט אֱלֹהָיו֙ לֹ֣א עָזָ֔ב יִשְׁאָל֙וּנִי֙ מִשְׁפְּטֵי־צֶ֔דֶק קִרְבַ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים יֶחְפָּצֽוּן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yet they seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• me dailyיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and delightחָפֵץchâphêts · to delight inH2654
• to knowדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
• my waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• as a nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• that didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• and forsookעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• not the ordinanceמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
• of their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• they askשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• of me the ordinancesמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• of justiceצֶ֫דֶקtsedeq · righteousnessH6664
• in approachingקִרְבָהqerâbâh · nearnessH7132

Cross-references for Isaiah 58:2

• Isaiah 1:11“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
• Isaiah 29:13And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
• Isaiah 48:1“Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel. You don’t keep your promises,
• Deuteronomy 5:28“The Lord heard the request you made to me. And he said, ‘I have heard what the people said to you, and they are right.
• 1 Samuel 15:21Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
• Proverbs 15:8The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but he delights in the prayers of the upright.
• Ezekiel 33:30“Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’
• Matthew 15:7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
• Mark 4:16The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
• Mark 6:20for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.
• John 5:35John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.
• Hebrews 6:4For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,
• Jeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.
• Mark 12:14“Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
• James 1:21So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
• 1 Peter 2:1So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.

Commentaries on Isaiah 58:2

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Yet they seek me daily - The whole description here is appropriate to the character of formalists and hypocrites; and the idea is, that public worship by sacrifice was celebrated daily in the temple, and was not intermitted. It is not improbable also that they kept up the regular daily service in their dwellings. And delight to know my ways - Probably this means, they profess to delight to know the ways of God; that is, his commands, truths, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2they seek me: They may have been truly committed to a religious form, but they failed to truly meet God in their religious activities.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Put the stop at "ways"; and connect "as a nation that," &c. with what follows; "As a nation that did righteousness," thus answers to, "they ask of Me just judgments" (that is, as a matter of justice due to them, salvation to themselves, and destruction to their enemies); and "forsook not the ordinance of their God," answers to "they desire the drawing near of God" (that God would draw near to exercise those "just judgments" in behalf of them, and…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 58:2

• Affections
• Hypocrisy

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Aloud
• Light
• Commentaries
• Guilt
• Isaiah
• Ordinance
• 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