Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:2 
Context10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 1 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 2
Isaiah 38:14
Context38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo 3 like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. 4
O sovereign master, 5 I am oppressed;
help me! 6
Isaiah 41:17
Context41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; 7
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
Isaiah 58:6-7
Context58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. 8
I want you 9 to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed, 10
and to break every burdensome yoke.
58:7 I want you 11 to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. 12
When you see someone naked, clothe him!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! 13
1 tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”
2 tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”
sn On the socio-economic background of vv. 1-2, see the note at 1:23.
3 tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”
4 tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”
5 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
6 tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.
7 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
8 tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
9 tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “crushed.”
11 tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”
12 tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.
13 tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”
