Isaiah 58:3
in Isaiah 58“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 your own pleasure, and exact all your labors.
KJV
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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This verse in Isaiah 58
Commentary
15 notes on this verseThe Word blamed the children of Israel on account of such a fast as this, exhorting them by Isaiah the prophet and saying, "This is not the fast or the day that I have chosen, that a person should humble his soul."
This site's exposition
Why have we fasted, and You have not seen?
on Isaiah 58:3-5
The people ask why God has not seen their fasting, keeping the ritual and expecting the ritual to move God. The answer exposes the fast: “you oppress all your workers”, and they fast “with contention and strife”. Verse 5 asks whether bowing “his head like a reed” is the fast.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
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, …
(Verse 3) They ask me for judgments of justice, and for the nearness of God. Why did we fast, and you did not look upon us? We humbled our souls, and you did not know? Behold, in the day of your fast your will is found, and you exact all your debtors. Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and you strike with the fist wickedly. LXX: They now seek a just judgment from me, and they desire to draw near to God, saying: Why did we fast, and you did not see? We have humiliated our souls, and you have not acknowledged? For on the days of your fasts, your desires are found, and you afflict all those subject to you, fasting for judgments and arguments, and you strike the humble with your fists. There is another rashness of the Jews, as if with the confidence of a good conscience, they demand a just judgment, and they imitate the words of the saints saying: Judge me, O Lord, for I have entered in my innocence (Ps. XXV, 1, 2). And again: Test me, O Lord, and try me: burn my reins and my heart. And in another place: Judge my cause, and redeem me (Psalm 118:154). And they desire to draw near to God: but this does not occur in a physical place, but in affection, nor in idle thoughts, but in laborious deeds. Finally, Scripture instructs us on what it means to draw near to God, saying: Seek the Lord. And when the wicked draws near to you, let him forsake his ways, and the unjust his thoughts. For the Lord is near to those who approach Him, and to those who pursue what is just. And they can say: But for me it is good to cling to God (Ps. LXXII, 28). For if Almighty God is the Father of truth and justice, whoever is deceitful and unjust cannot draw near to God, of whom it is written: The wicked shall not dwell with you, nor shall the unjust remain before your eyes (Ps. V, 6). Why did we fast, they say, and you did not look? We humbled our souls, and you did not know? […]
Now fasting is a very worthwhile and excellent thing, and prayer is most useful. And humbling oneself in God's eyes has much to commend it. … The God of the universe says, return to me with fasting, wailing, mourning. For he readily has mercy on those doing penance through travail. But it is unusual that those wishing to receive mercy in another way should annoy the legislator and provoke him to wrath by not liking to do the things commanded. For it is necessary that all saints who wish to draw near to God not only do the good works to be done but also that they be free from all reproach.
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?
"Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose a day for a person to humble himself?" Do not fast as if with the aim to fulfill your evil intentions, as if you had …
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
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 …
Again, they trust in the observation of fasts: why have we fasted, and you have not regarded, as if you were grateful; have we humbled our souls, as to the circumstances of their fasts, in outward humiliation, and you have not taken notice, with the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): 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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Ye find - Either you indulge yourselves in sensuality, as they did, chap. xxii, 13. But this does not agree with that afflicting of their souls which they now professed, and which God acknowledges; or you pursue and satisfy your own desires: though you abstain from bodily food, you do not mortify your sinful inclinations.
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not?....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Wherefore have we fasted - They had fasted much, evidently with the expectation of delivering themselves from impending calamities, and securing the divine favor. They are here introduced as saying that they had been disappointed. God had not interposed as they had expected. Chagrined and mortified, they now complain that he had not noticed their very conscientious and faithful regard for the duties of religion. And thou seest not? - All had been in vain. Calamities still impended; judgments threatened; and there were no tokens of the divine approbation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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 (Ps 73:13;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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, posting up their books, and drawing out their bills to be ready to collect their debts. These are sneaking hypocrites; the others are daringly irreligious.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָ֤מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| צַּ֙מְנוּ֙ | tzamnu | have we fasted | H6684 → | 21 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָאִ֔יתָ | raita | you have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עִנִּ֥ינוּ | ʾininu | have we humbled? | H6031 → | 82 times |
| נַפְשֵׁ֖נוּ | nafshenu | self our | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵדָ֑ע | teda' | you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הֵ֣ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| בְּי֤וֹם | beyom | on [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| צֹֽמְכֶם֙ | tzomekhem | fasting your | H6685 → | 26 times |
| תִּמְצְאוּ־ | timtzeu- | you find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵ֔פֶץ | chefetz | pleasure | H2656 → | 39 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עַצְּבֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾatzeveikhem | laborers your | H6092 → | |
| תִּנְגֹּֽשׂוּ׃ | tingosu | you drive hard | H5065 → | 23 times |
לָ֤מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
צַּ֙מְנוּ֙have we fasted
tzamnuH6684 →21 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
רָאִ֔יתָyou have seen
raitaH7200 →1300 times
עִנִּ֥ינוּhave we humbled?
ʾininuH6031 →82 times
נַפְשֵׁ֖נוּself our
nafshenuH5315 →754 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵדָ֑עyou know
teda'H3045 →945 times
הֵ֣ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
בְּי֤וֹםon [the] day of
beyomH3117 →2304 times
צֹֽמְכֶם֙fasting your
tzomekhemH6685 →26 times
תִּמְצְאוּ־you find
timtzeu-H4672 →455 times
חֵ֔פֶץpleasure
chefetzH2656 →39 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
עַצְּבֵיכֶ֖םlaborers your
ʾatzeveikhemH6092 →
תִּנְגֹּֽשׂוּ׃you drive hard
tingosuH5065 →23 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 28:9Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
it leads to
- Psalms 66:18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- 2 Timothy 4:3–4
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- Zechariah 7:11–13
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Psalms 109:7
When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
- Psalms 66:18
Through
Malachi 3:14You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
it leads to
- Psalms 73:8–13
They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
- Zephaniah 1:12
And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’
- Job 35:3
For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’
- Psalms 73:8–13
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 1:4; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 400:7; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:3.58:3-4; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 58:4-5; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 18:58.3 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.