58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. 2
I want you 3 to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed, 4
and to break every burdensome yoke.
1 tc If original to Isaiah 38, vv. 21-22 have obviously been misplaced in the course of the text’s transmission, and would most naturally be placed here, between Isa 38:6 and 38:7. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8, where these verses are placed at this point in the narrative, not at the end. Another possibility is that these verses were not in the original account, and a scribe, familiar with the 2 Kgs version of the story, appended vv. 21-22 to the end of the account in Isaiah 38.
2 tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Heb “crushed.”