Yeshayah 55:2

2 Why do ye spend kesef for that which is not lechem? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Pay heed diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is tov, and let your nefesh delight itself in deshen (the best food, the fat of the land).

Yeshayah 55:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 55:2

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
&c.] Lavish away time, opportunities, and strength, in reading and hearing false doctrine, which is not bread, but chaff; is not wholesome, does not nourish, but is harmful and destructive; eats as does a canker, instead of feeding and refreshing; such as the vain philosophy of the Gentiles, the traditions of the Jews, and the errors and heresies of false teachers: and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
labouring to seek for happiness in worldly things, which is not to be had; or to obtain righteousness by the works of the law, which is not to be attained to in that way; all such labour is in vain, no satisfaction is enjoyed, nor peace and comfort had, nor any solid food; these are husks which swine eat: hearken diligently unto me;
not the prophet, but the Lord himself. The Targum renders it,

``my Word;''

the essential Word, Christ Jesus, hearken to his doctrine, which is bread, and of a satisfying nature: and eat ye that which is good;
not the law, as the Jewish commentators; but the good word of God, the Gospel, which being found and eaten by faith, or mixed with faith by them that hear it, and so digested, is the joy and rejoicing of the heart: and let your soul delight itself in fatness;
in the goodness and fatness of the Lord's house, attending on the word and ordinances with spiritual pleasure and delight; and which is the way to become fat and flourishing in spiritual things; see ( Psalms 36:8 ) ( 65:4 ) .

Yeshayah 55:2 In-Context

1 5 Come, kol tzameh (all ye who are thirsty), come ye to the mayim and he that hath no kesef; come ye, buy, and eat; yes, come, buy yayin and cholov without kesef and without mekhir (price, cost).

2 Why do ye spend kesef for that which is not lechem? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Pay heed diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is tov, and let your nefesh delight itself in deshen (the best food, the fat of the land).

3 Incline your ozen, and come unto Me; hear, and your nefesh shall live; and I will make with you a Brit Olam, even the chasdei Dovid hane’emanim [see Ac 13:34 OJBC].

4 See, I have given him [Moshiach, Ac 13:34 OJAC] for an ed l’ummim (witness to the Nations), a Nagid and Metzavveh (commander) for the Nations.

5 Behold, thou shalt summon a Goy (People) that thou knowest not, and Goy that knew not thee shall run unto thee l’ma’an (for the sake of) Hashem Eloheicha and for Kadosh Yisroel; for He hath glorified thee.