11 And Jehovah doth lead thee continually, And hath satisfied in drought thy soul, And thy bones He armeth, And thou hast been as a watered garden, And as an outlet of waters, whose waters lie not.
And they have come in, And have sung in the high place of Zion, And flowed unto the goodness of Jehovah, For wheat, and for new wine, and for oil, And for the young of the flock and herd, And their soul hath been as a watered garden, And they add not to grieve any more.
but whoever may drink of the water that I will give him, may not thirst -- to the age; and the water that I will give him shall become in him a well of water, springing up to life age-during.'
They do not hunger, nor thirst, Nor smite them doth mirage and sun, For He who is pitying them doth lead them, And by fountains of waters doth tend them.
A liberal soul is made fat, And whoso is watering, he also is watered.
And they have said: This land, that was desolated, Hath been as the garden of Eden, And the cities -- the wasted, And the desolated, and the broken down, Fenced places have remained.
And hath been as a tree planted by waters, And by a rivulet he sendeth forth his roots, And he doth not see when heat cometh, And his leaf hath been green, And in a year of dearth he is not sorrowful, Nor doth he cease from making fruit.
Whoso is proud in soul stirreth up contention, And whoso is trusting on Jehovah is made fat.
The soul of the slothful is desiring, and hath not. And the soul of the diligent is made fat.
Healing it is to thy navel, And moistening to thy bones.
Still they bring forth in old age, Fat and flourishing are they,
That this God `is' our God -- To the age and for ever, He -- he doth lead us over death!
I cause thee to act wisely, And direct thee in the way that thou goest, I cause mine eye to take counsel concerning thee.
In famine He hath redeemed thee from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.
And our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you,
He high places doth inhabit, Strongholds of rock `are' his high tower, His bread hath been given, his waters stedfast.
They are not ashamed in a time of evil, And in days of famine they are satisfied.
To deliver from death their soul, And to keep them alive in famine.
My brethren have deceived as a brook, As a stream of brooks they pass away. That are black because of ice, By them doth snow hide itself. By the time they are warm they have been cut off, By its being hot they have been Extinguished from their place. Turn aside do the paths of their way, They ascend into emptiness, and are lost. Passengers of Tema looked expectingly, Travellers of Sheba hoped for them. They were ashamed that one hath trusted, They have come unto it and are confounded.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 58
Commentary on Isaiah 58 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 58
The prophet, in this chapter, has his commission and charge renewed to reprove the sinners in Zion, particularly the hypocrites, to show them their transgressions (v. 1). It is intended for admonition and warning to all hypocrites, and is not to be confined to those of any one age. Some refer it primarily to those at that time when Isaiah prophesied; see 33:14; 29:13. Others to the captives in Babylon, the wicked among them, to whom the prophet had declared there was no peace, ch. 57:21. Against the terror of that word they thought to shelter themselves with their external performances, particularly their fastings, which they kept up in Babylon, and for some time after their return to their own land, Zec. 7:3, etc. The prophet therefore here shows them that their devotions would not entitle them to peace while their conversations were not at all of a piece with them. Others think it is principally intended against the hypocrisy of the Jews, especially the Pharisees before and in our Saviour's time: they boasted of their fastings, but Christ (as the prophet here) showed them their transgressions (Mt. 23), much the same with those they are here charged with. Observe,
Isa 58:1-2
When our Lord Jesus promised to send the Comforter he added, When he shall come he shall convince (Jn. 16:7, 8); for conviction must prepare for comfort, and must also separate between the precious and the vile, and mark out those to whom comfort does not belong. God had appointed this prophet to comfort his people (ch. 40:1); here he appoints him to convince them, and show them their sins.
Isa 58:3-7
Here we have,
Isa 58:8-12
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. Here is,
Isa 58:13-14
Great stress was always laid upon the due observance of the sabbath day, and it was particularly required from the Jews when they were captives in Babylon, because by keeping that day, in honour of the Creator, they distinguished themselves from the worshippers of the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth. See ch. 56:1, 2, where keeping the sabbath is joined, as here, with keeping judgment and doing justice. Some, indeed, understand this of the day of atonement, which they think is the fast spoken of in the former part of the chapter, and which is called a sabbath of rest, Lev. 23:32. But, as the fasts before spoken of seem to be those that were occasional, so this sabbath is doubtless the weekly sabbath, that great sign between God and his professing people-his appointing it a sign of his favour to them and their observing it a sign of their obedience to him. Now observe here,