Isaiah 58:3

3 They say, 'To honor you we had special days when we gave up eating, but you didn't see. We humbled ourselves to honor you, but you didn't notice.'" But the Lord says, "You do what pleases yourselves on these special days, and you are unfair to your workers.

Isaiah 58:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 58:3

Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not?
&c.] Our fasting; takest no notice of it; expresses no approbation of it, and pleasure in it: this is put for all religious services, being what was frequently performed under the Old Testament, not only at certain times appointed by the Lord, but on other occasions, and of their own fixing; in which they put their confidence, and often boasted of, ( Luke 18:12 ) : "wherefore have we afflicted our soul", by fasting, "and thou takest no knowledge?" of that, nor of us, and dost not save us from our enemies, and deliver us from our troubles, and bestow favours on us: they had a high opinion of their own performances, and thought that God must have likewise; and were displeased that he showed no more regard unto them: behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure;
this, and what follows in the two next verses, are an answer to their questions, and give reasons why the Lord took no more notice of their fasting, or of their services; because they were not done aright, they found their own pleasure in them; not that they indulged to bodily recreations and carnal delights, but they gratified the inward desires of the flesh, malice, envy, and the like; and they pleased themselves with their own duties, and fancied they procured the favour of God by them: and exact all your labours;
of their servants, or their money of their debtors; they grieved and afflicted their debtors, by demanding their debts of them, as Jarchi interprets it; and that in a very rigorous manner, requiring whole and immediate payment; or, as it is usual with establishments, they require an exact conformity to their manner of service, worship, and discipline.

Isaiah 58:3 In-Context

1 The Lord says, "Shout out loud. Don't hold back. Shout out loud like a trumpet. Tell my people what they have done against their God; tell the family of Jacob about their sins.

2 They still come every day looking for me and want to learn my ways. They act just like a nation that does what is right, that obeys the commands of its God. They ask me to judge them fairly. They want God to be near them.

3 They say, 'To honor you we had special days when we gave up eating, but you didn't see. We humbled ourselves to honor you, but you didn't notice.'" But the Lord says, "You do what pleases yourselves on these special days, and you are unfair to your workers.

4 On these special days when you do not eat, you argue and fight and hit each other with your fists. You cannot do these things as you do now and believe your prayers are heard in heaven.

5 This kind of special day is not what I want. This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done. I don't want people just to bow their heads like a plant and wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness. This is what you do on your special days when you do not eat, but do you think this is what the Lord wants?