Discovery BoxIsaiah 50:2 
Context50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 1
Is my hand too weak 2 to deliver 3 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 4 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 5
Isaiah 58:5
Context58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? 6
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, 7
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out 8 on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
1 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
2 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
3 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
4 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
5 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
6 tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”
7 tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Or “making [their] bed.”
