Isaiah 58:3

Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
fasted	צַּ֙מְנוּ֙ tzam.nu	H6684	to cover over (the mouth) · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural
seest	רָאִ֔יתָ ra.'I.ta	H7200	to see · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
afflicted	עִנִּ֥ינוּ 'i.Ni.nu	H6031	to depress literally or figuratively · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common plural
soul	נַפְשֵׁ֖נוּ naf.She.nu	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
knowledge	תֵדָ֑ע te.Da'	H3045	to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
day	בְּי֤וֹם be.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
fast	צֹֽמְכֶם֙ tzo.me.Khem	H6685	a fast · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
find	תִּמְצְאוּ tim.tze.'u-	H4672	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
pleasure	חֵ֔פֶץ Che.fetz	H2656	pleasure · noun, common masculine singular absolute
exact	תִּנְגֹּֽשׂוּ tin.Go.su	H5065	to drive (an animal · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
labours	עַצְּבֵיכֶ֖ם 'a.tze.vei.Khem	H6092	a (hired) workman · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 18:9-12 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Proverbs 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
Malachi 3:14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the…
Matthew 20:11-12 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Leviticus 16:29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do…
Exodus 2:23-24 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cr…
Nehemiah 5:7 Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I…
Daniel 10:2-3 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 58:3-7

Here we have, I. The displeasure which these hypocrites conceived against God for not accepting the services which they themselves had a mighty opinion of (Isa 58:3): Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Thus they went in the way of Cain, who was angry at God, and resented it as a gross affront that his offering was not accepted. Having gone about to put a cheat upon God by their external services, here they go about to pick a quarrel with God for not being pleased with their services, as if he had not done fairly or justly by them. Observe, 1. How they boast of themselves, and magnify their own performances: "We have fasted, and afflicted our souls; we have not only sough…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 58:3

Wherefore--the words of the Jews: "Why is it that, when we fast, Thou dost not notice it" (by delivering us)? They think to lay God under obligation to their fasting (Psa 73:13; Mal 3:14). afflicted . . . soul-- (Lev 16:29). Behold--God's reply. pleasure--in antithesis to their boast of having "afflicted their soul"; it was only in outward show they really enjoyed themselves. GESENIUS not so well translates, "business." exact . . . labours--rather, "oppressive labors" [MAURER]. HORSLEY, with Vulgate, translates, "Exact the whole upon your debtors"; those who owe you labor (Neh 5:1-5, Neh 5:8-10, &c.).

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 58:3

Have we adopted our soul "Have we afflicted our souls" - Twenty-seven MSS. (six ancient) of Dr. Kennicott's, thirty-six of De Rossi's, and two of my own, and the old edition of 1488 have the noun in the plural number, נפשינו naphsheynu, our souls; and so the Septuagint, Chaldee, and Vulgate. This reading is undoubtedly genuine. In the day of your fast ye find pleasure - Fast days are generally called holidays, and holidays are days of idleness and pleasure. In numberless cases the fast is turned into a feast. And exact all your labors - Some disregard the most sacred fast, and will oblige their servant to work all day long; others use fast days for the purpose of settling their accounts, pos…

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The Church Fathers

What if your flesh obeys you, and you do not obey God? Aren't you condemned by your own flesh, when it submits to you? Doesn't it bear witness against you, precisely by submitting to you?
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 400:7

Ye offer [your own wills] as whole burnt offerings unto idols; and unto the wretched thoughts, that ye reckon in yourselves as gods, ye daily sacrifice your free will, a thing more precious than all incense, which ye ought rather to consecrate unto Me by your good works and your purity of conscience.
— Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 6

They think that abstaining from food is the height of virtue, and they accuse me of not automatically deeming them worthy of all providence. As for the phrase "they desire to be near to God," Symmachus translates, "they wish the nearness of God" and Aquila, "they will19 the drawing near of God." The text shows that they have no desire to draw near to God, but want him to come near to them through his protection and care, even while choosing a life unworthy of him.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 18:58.3

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Fasting · 35:13;69:10; — 35:13;69:10;
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hypocrites · Worship of, not acceptable to God — Worship of, not acceptable to God
Presumption · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Unbelief · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 58:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 58:3-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 58:3

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 58:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 58:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 58:3-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 58:3

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 58:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Isaiah 58:3

John Calvin on Isaiah 58:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 58:3-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 58:3

Rashi on Isaiah 58:3