Isaia 58:6 Commento

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 58 From the wicked and antichristian party the prophet is bid to turn to the professors of the true religion, and openly, boldly, and sharply, reprove them for their sins, particularly their hypocrisy and formality in worship, Isa 58:1, who yet were angry, and complained that the Lord took no notice of their religious services, particularly their fasting, which is put for the whole; the reason of which was, because they did not fast aright; it was attended with much cruelty, strife, and wickedness, and only lay in external appearances, Isa 58:3, when they are directed how to keep a fast, and are shown what a true fast is, and what works and services are acceptable to God, Isa 58:6 on doing of which, light, health, prosperity, and hearing of their prayers, are promised, provided the yoke of oppression is taken away, and compassion shown to the poor, Isa 58:8, yea, a very fruitful and flourishing estate of the soul is promised, and a rebuilding of waste places, delight in the Lord, and great honour and dignity; so be it that the sabbath of the Lord, or public worship, is attended to in a proper manner, Isa 58:11.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen?.... Which God has appointed, he approves of, and is well pleasing in his sight; these are works and services more agreeable to him, which follow, without which the rest will be rejected: to loose the bands of wickedness; which some understand of combinations in courts of judicature to oppress and distress the poor; others of bonds and contracts unjustly made, or rigorously demanded and insisted on, when they cannot be answered; rather of those things with which the consciences of men are bound in religious matters; impositions upon conscience; binding to the use of stinted forms, and to habits in divine worship, which the word of God has not made necessary: to undo the heavy burdens. The Septuagint render it, "dissolve the obligations of violent contracts"; such as are obtained by violence; so the Arabic version; or by fraud, as the Syriac version, which translates it, bonds of fraud. The Targum is, "loose the bonds of writings of a depraved judgment;'' all referring it to unjust bonds and contracts in a civil sense: but rather it regards the loosing or freeing men from all obligation to all human prescriptions and precepts; whatever is after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ; so the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees are called "heavy burdens, grievous to be borne", Mat 23:4 these should not be laid and bound on men's shoulders, but should be done and taken off of them, as well as all penal laws with which they have been enforced: and to let the oppressed go free; such as have been broken by oppression, not only in their spirits, but in their purses, by mulcts and fines, and confiscation of goods; and who have been cast into prisons, and detained a long time in filthy dungeons; and where many have perished for the sake of religion, even in Protestant countries: and that ye break every yoke; of church power and tyranny; everything that is not enjoined and authorized by the word of God; every yoke but the yoke of Christ; all human precepts, and obedience to them; all but the commands of Christ, and obedience to them; no other yoke should be put upon the neck of his disciples but his own.

Do you see, dearly beloved, what true fasting really is? Let us perform this kind and not entertain the facile notion held by many that the essence of fasting lies in going without food till evening. This is not the end in view, but that we should demonstrate, along with abstinence from food, abstinence also from whatever is harmful, and should give close attention to spiritual duties. The person fasting ought to be reserved, peaceful, meek, humble, indifferent to the esteem of this world.

(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 see the naked, that you cover him, and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh? Isn't this the fast that I have chosen?' says the Lord: 'to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?' Dissolve the bonds of violent obligations. Release the broken ones in remission, and cut off all unjust writings. Break your bread to the hungry, and bring the homeless into your house. If you see someone naked, cover them, and do not despise the members of your own household. After he taught what kind of fasting he disapproves of, he showed what kind he gladly accepts. Dissolve, he says, the bindings of impiety: untie the bundles that weigh down: or as the Septuagint translated more clearly, the bonds of violent obligations, which our people, deceived by the ambiguity of the word, that is, exchanges in certificates, interpreted as transfers. However, it signifies the bundles of documents in which the deceit of lenders is contained, and the poor are oppressed by debt, which is the main cause of revolt in all cities. Therefore, the Roman people occupy neighboring mountains, and there are new records, which the Greeks call 'χρέων ἀποκοπάς'. Therefore, the Prophet does not command that each person should not demand what is owed, especially when it was justly given and justly sought after; otherwise, he would be a supporter of sedition. But where there is unfair surety, where the poor are oppressed by slander: there the bundles of sureties and all the chains of injustice must be broken. Or 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). If this is commanded in the old Law (Exodus 21), how much more in the Gospel, where everything that is good is multiplied: and not an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth is commanded, but to offer the other cheek to the one who strikes! And so that we know what we have said above: Collect all your debtors, have the creditors written down, and join them with the debtors more clearly: Forgive those who are broken, that is, those who are broken by poverty, whom affliction has afflicted, so that you do not allow them to beg. And break all burdens by which they are oppressed. For which the Seventy translated it more clearly, and cut off all unjust writing: which Symmachus translated: And break all false caution. But it could happen that someone would say, 'I have no debtors, what should I do to observe my fast?' It follows: Break your bread to the hungry. Not many loaves, nor cause poverty, but one loaf. Not the whole loaf itself, but a portion of bread: which if you did not fast, you would eat; so that your fast is not a profit for your purse, but a satisfaction for your soul. And beautifully he added 'your', so that you do not make your alms from robbery: For the redemption of a man's soul is his own treasure (Proverbs 13, 6). And in another place: Honor the Lord with your just labor (Proverbs 3, 9). Certainly if you do not have bread, and there is a great multitude of hungry people, give from what you suffer no harm. In which there are no expenses, bring the homeless, the poor without shelter, into your home. Or as it is said in Hebrew, into the house, so that if you do not have your own, you bring them into a small guesthouse, which you either rent or possess as a favor. If you see someone naked, cover him. And what the Lord said in the Gospel: Whoever has two tunics, let him give one to him who has none (Luke 3, 11). For he did not command that one be torn and divided, as many do for the sake of popular applause, but that the other not be preserved, increasing the precepts of justice, so that he also may say that having handed a cup of cold water has its rewards. And he says 'your' flesh, do not despise it. For every man is our flesh. And according to the Gospel parable, he is called the neighbor who does good to the one who came down from Jerusalem to Jericho and was wounded by robbers (Luke 10). Or certainly according to the Seventy who said: And do not despise the servants of your own seed, let us understand those servants of your own seed, about whom the Apostle also teaches, saying that alms should be done to all, but especially to the servants of faith (Galatians 6). For they are our flesh and our seed, being generated with us by the same parent. To whom the Savior also extended his hand, saying: These are my mother and my brothers, who do the will of my Father (Mark 3, 34, 35). And so that we know that there is one Lord, both of the new and the old Testament, the Lord speaks the same in the Gospel about those who will stand on the right on the day of judgment, saying: Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was sick and in prison, and you visited me. I was a stranger and you brought me into your home. And I was naked and you clothed me (Matthew 25, 34-36). And to those who humbly say that they have done nothing for the Lord and Savior, he responds: As long as you have done it to one of the least of my brothers, you have done it to me. According to tropology, we can say: Whoever fasts from all evil and wishes his fast to be respected, not only must turn away from evil, but also do good, so as to break every bond of iniquity by which simple believers are bound by the deceit of heretics. And the Prophet also speaks about the bonds of violent contracts, which he demonstrates in the psalm, saying: But those who go astray in their obligations, the Lord will bring with those who work iniquity (Psalm 125, 5). For all those who are bound by the bonds of heretics, turn away from the Lord; they are like a bull led to the slaughter; and they choose and exchange falsehood for truth. Therefore, let the Ecclesiastical man dismiss and dissolve these kinds of men, who are broken in judgment; and break and tear apart all the writings of heretics, about whom the same Prophet says: Woe to those who write iniquity: for they write malice, stealing the judgment of the poor people of mine (Isaiah 10, 1, 2), so that they do not hold every simple person ensnared by their traps. And when he does this, let him break his bread to the hungry of the Ecclesiastical doctrine, which the Lord also did, giving broken bread to the Apostles, which he left for them in seven baskets and twelve small baskets, not whole as they were in the Law, but crushed and broken in the Gospel, so that they would have something to give to the poor (Matthew 15). When you see those who do not have the warmth of faith, but who freeze outside the Church in the coldness of unbelief, bring them into the house of the Church, and cover them with the robe of incorruption; so that, clothed in Christ's tunic, they do not remain in the graves, as we read of the one who was possessed by a legion of demons, who lived naked among the memorials of the dead. And when you have done this, let your generosity be shown to all, especially to the faithful servants.

1027. Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? Here he brings in useful counsel. And first, as to the zeal of piety towards one's neighbor; second, as to the worship of religious duty toward God: if you turn away (Isa 58:13). Concerning the first, he does two things. First, he sets out the counsel of piety, that calumnies should cease: loose the bands of wickedness, the false lawsuits, by which, like usurers, they cunningly bound the poor, undo the bundles, referring to the same thing, that oppress, as to the punishments to which they bound them; them that are broken, by long servitude; break asunder every burden, of servitude: they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, but with a finger of their own they will not move them (Matt 23:4).

This elegant chapter contains a severe reproof of the Jews on account of their vices, particularly their hypocrisy in practising and relying on outward ceremonies, such as fasting and bodily humiliation, without true repentance, Isa 58:1-5. It then lays down a clear and comprehensive summary of the duties they owed to their fellow creatures, Isa 58:6, Isa 58:7. Large promises of happiness and prosperity are likewise annexed to the performance of these duties in a variety of the most beautiful and striking images, Isa 58:8-12. Great temporal and spiritual blessedness of those who keep holy the Sabbath day, Isa 58:13, Isa 58:14.

Let the oppressed go free - How can any nation pretend to fast or worship God at all, or dare to profess that they believe in the existence of such a Being, while they carry on the slave trade, and traffic in the souls, blood, and bodies, of men! O ye most flagitious of knaves, and worst of hypocrites, cast off at once the mask of religion; and deepen not your endless perdition by professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, while ye continue in this traffic!

REPROOF OF THE JEWS FOR THEIR DEPENDENCE ON MERE OUTWARD FORMS OF WORSHIP. (Isa 58:1-14) aloud--Hebrew, "with the throat," that is, with full voice, not merely from the lips (Sa1 1:13). Speak loud enough to arrest attention. my people--the Jews in Isaiah's time, and again in the time of our Lord, more zealous for externals than for inward holiness. ROSENMULLER thinks the reference to be to the Jews in the captivity practising their rites to gain God's favor and a release; and that hence, sacrifices are not mentioned, but only fasting and Sabbath observance, which they could keep though far away from the temple in Jerusalem. The same also applies to their present dispersion, in which they cannot offer sacrifices, but can only show their zeal in fastings, &c. Compare as to our Lord's time, Mat 6:16, Mat 6:23; Luk 18:12.

loose . . . bands of wickedness--that is, to dissolve every tie wherewith one has unjustly bound his fellow men (Lev 25:49, &c.). Servitude, a fraudulent contract, &c. undo . . . heavy burdens--Hebrew, "loose the bands of the yoke." oppressed--literally, "the broken." The expression, "to let go free," implies that those "broken" with the yoke of slavery, are meant (Neh 5:10-12; Jer 34:9-11, Jer 34:14, Jer 34:16). JEROME interprets it, broken with poverty; bankrupt.

As the last prophecy of the second book contained all the three elements of prophetic addresses - reproach, threat, and promise - so this, the first prophecy of the third book, cannot open in any other way than with a rehearsal of one of these. The prophet receives the commission to appear as the preacher of condemnation; and whilst Jehovah is giving the reason for this commission, the preaching itself commences. "Cry with full throat, hold not back; lift up thy voice like a bugle, and proclaim to my people their apostasy, and to the house of Jacob their sins. And they seek me day by day, and desire to learn my ways, like a nation which has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the right of their God: they ask of me judgments of righteousness; they desire the drawing near of Elohim." As the second prophecy of the first part takes as its basis a text from Micah (Mic 2:1-4), so have we here in Isa 58:1 the echo of Mic 3:8. Not only with lisping lips (Sa1 1:13), but with the throat (Psa 115:7; Psa 149:6); that is to say, with all the strength of the voice, lifting up the voice like the shōphâr (not a trumpet, which is called חצצרה, nor in fact any metallic instrument, but a bugle or signal horn, like that blown on new year's day: see at Psa 81:4), i.e., in a shrill shouting tone. With a loud voice that must be heard, with the most unsparing publicity, the prophet is to point out to the people their deep moral wounds, which they may indeed hide from themselves with hypocritical opus operatum, but cannot conceal from the all-seeing God. The ו of ואותי does not stand for an explanatory particle, but for an adversative one: "their apostasy ... their sins; and yet (although they are to be punished for these) they approach Jehovah every day" (יום יום with mahpach under the first יום, and pasek after it, as is the general rule between two like-sounding words), "that He would now speedily interpose." They also desire to know the ways which He intends to take for their deliverance, and by which He desires to lead them. This reminds us of the occurrence between Ezekiel and the elders of Gola (Eze 20:1.; compare also Eze 33:30.). As if they had been a people whose rectitude of action and fidelity to the commands of God warranted them in expecting nothing but what was good in the future, they ask God (viz., in prayer and by inquiring of the prophet) for mishpetē tsedeq, "righteous manifestations of judgment" i.e., such as will save them and destroy their foes, and desire qirbath 'Elōhı̄m, the coming of God, i.e., His saving parousia. The energetic futures, with the tone upon the last syllable, answer to their self-righteous presumption; and יחפצוּן is repeated, according to Isaiah's most favourite oratorical figure, at the close of the verse.