Isaiah 58:7
in Isaiah 58Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
KJV
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
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This verse in Isaiah 58
Commentary
15 notes on this verseOr indeed, this must be said, because it is about fasting, and fasting has affliction and humiliation of the soul: but the affliction of sinners' bodies begs for indulgence. Divine Scripture teaches us to forgive our debtors, so that the Heavenly Father may also forgive us our debts (Mark 11). The ancient history tells that in the year of the Jubilee, which is the true Jubilee, all possessions return to their owners and slaves regain their freedom, and all obligations, commonly known as cautions, become void (Leviticus 25 and 27).
This site's exposition
Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen
on Isaiah 58:6-7
“Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen” answers verse 5 with justice: “to break the chains of wickedness”. Verse 7 makes it concrete: “to share your bread with the hungry”. Henry reads verses 6 and 7 as a matched set, freedom for the oppressed and bread for the hungry.
This site's exposition
share your bread with the hungry
Barnes notes that the Hebrew verb behind share, paras, means to divide out portions. For Clarke, the food a fast saves belongs to the poor. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read your own flesh and blood as kin, with Genesis 29:14 in view, and Wesley widens it to every human being.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
(Verses 6, 7.) Isn't this the fast that I have chosen? To loosen the chains of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Isn't it to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the poor who are cast out into your house? When you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Isn't it to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house?
When you refrain from doing these things, then the things you lack will be yours. For the bearing of fruit toward the neighbor refers to the noble things of love. Love is the fulfillment of the law, as it stands written. For the fulfilling of love toward brothers and compassion are the marks of a reward with God. Seeing how to abstain from evil and doing good are not the same thing. For it does not suffice for glory with God to flee evil but to try in all ways to meet needs and do good works and hold fast to diligence in godliness … thus the old law being a schoolmaster to Christ did not introduce the fulfillment of the good for those at that time but rather taught them to restrain from evil. Thus, "do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not swear" have this force. But the perfect fulfillment of all goodness in the oracles is kept through Christ, through which we learn to fulfill those works of love toward God and our fellows.
He is finding fault, you see, with the fasts of the quarrelsome; he is looking for the fasts of the kindhearted. He is finding fault with those who oppress others; he is looking for those who give relief. He is finding fault with those who stir up strife; he is looking for those who set free. That is why, you see, during these days you restrain your desires for lawful things; it is in order not to commit unlawful things. If you refrain from your marriage rights during these days, then surely you should not drown yourself in wine or adultery on any day.In this way, in humility and charity, by fasting and giving, by restraining ourselves and forgiving, by paying out good deeds and not paying back bad ones, by turning away from evil and doing good, our prayer seeks peace and obtains it.
And we shall find many examples also in other places,-as, for instance, respecting prayer: "Good works are an acceptable prayer to the Lord," says the Scripture. And the manner of prayer is described. "If thou seest," it is said, "the naked, cover him; and thou shalt not overlook those who belong to thy seed. Then shall thy light spring forth early, and thy healing shall spring up quickly; and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall encompass thee." What, then, is the fruit of such prayer? "Then shall thou call, and God will hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He will say, I am here."
If we carefully heed the fact that Christ hungers in the person of the poor, beloved, it will be profitable for us.… Listen and see, a coin and a kingdom. What comparison is there, beloved? You give the poor a coin and receive a kingdom …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
And that they extend mercies, exhorting them to mercy as to the hungry: break your bread for the hungry, that is, if you have little; as to the homeless: and bring the needy and the harborless into your house; as to the naked, when you …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
To thy house - That thou be hospitable, and make thy house a shelter to them that have none of their own left. Hide not - That seek no occasion to excuse thyself. Thy own flesh - Some confine this to our own kindred; but we can look on no man, but there we contemplate our own flesh, and therefore it is barbarous, not only to tear, but not to love and succor him.
Here are precious promises for those to feast freely and cheerfully upon by faith who keep the fast that God has chosen; let them know that God will make it up to them. A further account of the duty to be done in order to our interest in these promises (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry? - The word renderd ‘deal’ (פרס pâras), means to divide, to distribute. The idea is, that we are to apportion among the poor that which will be needful for their support, as a father does to his children. This is everywhere enjoined in the Bible, and was especially regarded among the Orientals as an indispensable duty of religion.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
deal--distribute (Job 31:16-21). cast out--rather, reduced [HORSLEY]. naked . . . cover him-- (Mt 25:36). hide . . . thyself--means to be strange towards them, and not to relieve them in their poverty (Mt 15:5). flesh--kindred (Ge 29:14). Also brethren in common descent from Adam, and brethren in Christ (Jas 2:15).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Deal thy bread to the hungry - But this thou canst not do, if thou eat it thyself. When a man fasts, suppose he do it through a religious motive, he should give the food of that day, from which he abstains, to the poor and hungry, who, in the course of providence, are called to sustain many involuntary fasts, besides suffering general privations. Wo to him who saves a day’s victuals by his religious fast! He should either give them or their value in money to the poor. See Isa 58:6. That thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house “To bring the wandering poor into thy house” - πτωχους αστεγους, Septuagint; egenos vagosque, Vulgate; and מטלטלין metaltelin, Chaldee. They read, instead of מרודים merudim, הנודים hanudim. מר mer is upon a rasure in the Bodleian MS. The same MS. reads ביתה bayethah, in domum, “into the house.” - L.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲל֨וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| פָרֹ֤ס | faros | [is it] to break | H6536 → | |
| לָֽרָעֵב֙ | laraev | for the hungry [person] | H7457 → | 20 times |
| לַחְמֶ֔ךָ | lachmekha | bread your | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים | vaaniyim | and poor [people] | H6041 → | 73 times |
| מְרוּדִ֖ים | merudim | homeless people | H4788 → | |
| תָּ֣בִיא | tavi' | you will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בָ֑יִת | vayit | a house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִרְאֶ֤ה | tireh | you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עָרֹם֙ | ʾarom | [the] naked | H6174 → | 16 times |
| וְכִסִּית֔וֹ | vekhisito | and you will cover him | H3680 → | 152 times |
| וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖ | umibesarekha | and from own flesh your | H1320 → | 270 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִתְעַלָּֽם׃ | titalam | you will hide yourself | H5956 → |
הֲל֨וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
פָרֹ֤ס[is it] to break
farosH6536 →
לָֽרָעֵב֙for the hungry [person]
laraevH7457 →20 times
לַחְמֶ֔ךָbread your
lachmekhaH3899 →298 times
וַעֲנִיִּ֥יםand poor [people]
vaaniyimH6041 →73 times
מְרוּדִ֖יםhomeless people
merudimH4788 →
תָּ֣בִיאyou will bring
tavi'H935 →2568 times
בָ֑יִתa house
vayitH1004 →2046 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִרְאֶ֤הyou will see
tirehH7200 →1300 times
עָרֹם֙[the] naked
ʾaromH6174 →16 times
וְכִסִּית֔וֹand you will cover him
vekhisitoH3680 →152 times
וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖and from own flesh your
umibesarekhaH1320 →270 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִתְעַלָּֽם׃you will hide yourself
titalamH5956 →
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
Luke 3:11John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 58:7–11
Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own…
- 1 John 3:17
If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- Luke 18:22
On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Isaiah 58:7–11
Through
Proverbs 28:27Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:17
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Deuteronomy 15:7
If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or…
- Proverbs 11:24
One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
- Proverbs 19:17
Through
Ezekiel 18:7He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:16
He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
- Ezekiel 18:16
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 206:3; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 25:2; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 3; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:3.58:6-7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.