2 Why do ye weigh money for that which is not bread? And your labour for that which is not for satiety? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat good, And your soul doth delight itself in fatness.
For wind they sow, and a hurricane they reap, Stalk it hath none -- a shoot not yielding grain, If so be it yield -- strangers do swallow it up.
And satisfied the soul of the priests `with' fatness, And My people with My goodness are satisfied, An affirmation of Jehovah.
I am the bread of the life; your fathers did eat the manna in the wilderness, and they died; this is the bread that out of the heaven is coming down, that any one may eat of it, and not die. `I am the living bread that came down out of the heaven; if any one may eat of this bread he shall live -- to the age; and the bread also that I will give is my flesh, that I will give for the life of the world.' The Jews, therefore, were striving with one another, saying, `How is this one able to give us `his' flesh to eat?' Jesus, therefore, said to them, `Verily, verily, I say to you, If ye may not eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and may not drink his blood, ye have no life in yourselves; he who is eating my flesh, and is drinking my blood, hath life age-during, and I will raise him up in the last day; for my flesh truly is food, and my blood truly is drink; he who is eating my flesh, and is drinking my blood, doth remain in me, and I in him. `According as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, he also who is eating me, even that one shall live because of me; this is the bread that came down out of the heaven; not as your fathers did eat the manna, and died; he who is eating this bread shall live -- to the age.'
For two evils hath My people done, Me they have forsaken, a fountain of living waters, To hew out for themselves wells -- broken wells, That contain not the waters.
Ephraim is enjoying wind, And is pursuing an east wind, All the day lying and spoiling he multiplieth, And a covenant with Asshur they make, And oil to Egypt is carried.
and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings -- commands of men.'
And having called near all the multitude, he said to them, `Hearken to me, ye all, and understand;
and having gone on, he joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him to the fields to feed swine, and he was desirous to fill his belly from the husks that the swine were eating, and no one was giving to him.
and Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, at a law of righteousness did not arrive;
for I bear them testimony that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, for not knowing the righteousness of God, and their own righteousness seeking to establish, to the righteousness of God they did not submit.
though I also have `cause of' trust in flesh. If any other one doth think to have trust in flesh, I more; circumcision on the eighth day! of the race of Israel! of the tribe of Benjamin! a Hebrew of Hebrews! according to law a Pharisee! according to zeal persecuting the assembly! according to righteousness that is in law becoming blameless! But what things were to me gains, these I have counted, because of the Christ, loss;
with teachings manifold and strange be not carried about, for `it is' good that by grace the heart be confirmed, not with meats, in which they who were occupied were not profited;
`And it hath been -- if thou hearken diligently unto My commands which I am commanding you to-day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul --
Come ye, children, hearken to me, The fear of Jehovah I do teach you.
As `with' milk and fatness is my soul satisfied, And `with' singing lips doth my mouth praise.
And whoso is hearkening to me dwelleth confidently, And `is' quiet from fear of evil!'
And now, ye sons, hearken to me, Yea, happy are they who keep my ways.
`Come, eat of my bread, And drink of the wine I have mingled.
and He saith, `If thou dost really hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and dost that which is right in His eyes, and hast hearkened to His commands, and kept all His statutes: none of the sickness which I laid on the Egyptians do I lay on thee, for I, Jehovah, am healing thee.
If ye are willing, and have hearkened, The good of the land ye consume,
And made hath Jehovah of Hosts, For all the peoples in this mount, A banquet of fat things, a banquet of preserved things, Fat things full of marrow, preserved things refined.
-- They are pouring out gold from a bag, And silver on the beam they weigh, They hire a refiner, and he maketh it a god, They fall down, yea, they bow themselves.
Hearken unto Me, ye pursuing righteousness, Seeking Jehovah, Look attentively unto the rock -- ye have been hewn, And unto the hole of the pit -- ye have been digged.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 55
Commentary on Isaiah 55 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 55
As we had much of Christ in the 53rd chapter, and much of the church of Christ in the 54th chapter, so in this chapter we have much of the covenant of grace made with us in Christ. The "sure mercies of David,' which are promised here (v. 3), are applied by the apostle to the benefits which flow to us from the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:34), which may serve as a key to this chapter; not but that it was intended for the comfort of the people of God that lived then, especially of the captives in Babylon, and others of the dispersed of Israel; but unto us was this gospel preached as well as unto them, and much more clearly and fully in the New Testament. Here is,
Isa 55:1-5
Here,
Isa 55:6-13
We have here a further account of that covenant of grace which is made with us in Jesus Christ, both what is required and what is promised in the covenant, and of those considerations that are sufficient abundantly to confirm our believing compliance with and reliance on that covenant. This gracious discovery of God's good-will to the children of men is not to be confined either to the Jew or to the Gentile, to the Old Testament or to the New, much less to the captives in Babylon. No, both the precepts and the promises are here given to all, to every one that thirsts after happiness, v. 1. And who does not? Hear this, and live.