Isaiah 58:5

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?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
fast	צ֣וֹם Tzom	H6685	a fast · noun, common masculine singular absolute
chosen	אֶבְחָרֵ֔הוּ 'ev.cha.Re.hu	H977	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
day	י֛וֹם Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine singular construct
man	אָדָ֖ם 'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
afflict	עַנּ֥וֹת a.Not	H6031	to depress literally or figuratively · verb, piel infinitive construct
soul	נַפְשׁ֑וֹ naf.Sho	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
down	הֲלָכֹ֨ף ha.la.Khof	H3721	to curve · interrogative particle + preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
head	רֹאשׁ֗וֹ ro.Sho	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
bulrush	כְּאַגְמֹ֜ן ke.'ag.Mon	H100	a bulrush (as growing there) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
spread	יַצִּ֔יעַ ya.Tzi.a'	H3331	to strew as a surface · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sackcloth	וְשַׂ֤ק ve.Sak	H8242	properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
ashes	וָאֵ֙פֶר֙ va.'E.fer	H665	ashes · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
call	תִּקְרָא tik.ra'-	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
this	הֲכָזֶ֗ה ha.kha.Zeh	H2088	the masculine demonstrative pronoun · interrogative particle + preposition + demonstrative particle
fast	צ֔וֹם Tzom	H6685	a fast · noun, common masculine singular absolute
acceptable	רָצ֖וֹן ra.Tzon	H7522	delight (especially as shown) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
day	וְי֥וֹם ve.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	לַיהוָֽה la.Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title

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

Daniel 9:3-19 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Zechariah 7:5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those sev…
Isaiah 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and gi…
Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also…
Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,…
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…
2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

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 58:5

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 (Isa 58:6-7). bow . . . head . . . sackcloth--to affect the outward tokens, so as to "appear to men to fast" (Mat 6:17-18; Kg1 21:27; Est 4:3).

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 58:4

Ye fast for strife and debate - How often is this the case! A whole nation are called to fast to implore God's blessing on wars carried on for the purposes of wrath and ambition. To smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day "To smite with the fist the poor. Wherefore fast ye unto me in this manner" - I follow the version of the Septuagint, which gives a much better sense than the present reading of the Hebrew. Instead of רשע לא resha lo, they seem to have read in their copy רש על מה לי rash al mah lli. The four first letters are the same, but otherwise divided in regard to the words; the four last are lost, and א aleph added in their place, in order to make some…

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John Gill on Isaiah 58:5

Is it such a fast that I have chosen?.... That is, can this be thought to be a fast approved of by me, and acceptable to me, before described, and is as follows: a day for a man to afflict his soul? only to appoint a certain day, and keep that, by abstaining from bodily food, and so for a short time afflict himself; or only after this manner to afflict himself, and not humble himself for his sins, and abstain from them, and do the duties of justice and charity incumbent on him: is it to bow down his head as a bulrush; when it is moved with the wind, or bruised, or withered; as if he was greatly depressed and humbled, and very penitent and sorrowful. The Syriac version renders it, "as a hoo…

The Church Fathers

If you have fasted two or three days, do not think yourself better than others who do not fast. You fast and are angry; the other eats and wears a smiling face. You work off your irritation and hunger in quarrels. He uses food in moderation and gives God thanks.
— Jerome, LETTER 22.37

You see then that fasting is certainly not considered by the Lord as a thing that is good in its own nature, because it becomes good and pleasing to God not by itself but by in conjunction with other works. Again, in light of surrounding circumstances it may be regarded as not merely vain but actually hateful, as the Lord says: "When they fast, I will not hear their prayers."
— John Cassian, CONFERENCE 21:14

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

Bulrush — (1.) In Isa. 58:5 the rendering of a word which denotes “belonging to a marsh,” from the nature of the soil in which it grows (Isa. 18:2). It was sometimes platted into ropes (Job. 41:2; A.V.,…
Reed — (1.) “Paper reeds” (Isa. 19:7; R.V., “reeds”). Heb. ‘aroth, properly green herbage growing in marshy places. (2.) Heb. kaneh (1 Kings 14:15; Job 40:21; Isa. 19:6), whence the Gr. kanna, a “cane,” a…
Bulrush · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Fasting · 35:13;69:10; — 35:13;69:10;
Herbs, & C · Mentioned in scripture: Bulrushes — Mentioned in scripture: Bulrushes
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hypocrites · Worship of, not acceptable to God — Worship of, not acceptable to God

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 58:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 58:3-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 58:5

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 58:4

John Gill on Isaiah 58:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 58:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 58:3-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 58:5

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 58:4

John Gill on Isaiah 58:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 58:5

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 58:5-7

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 58:5

Rashi on Isaiah 58:5