Discovery BoxIsaiah 58:3 
Context58:3 They lament, 1 ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?
Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’
Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, 2
you oppress your workers. 3
Isaiah 58:13
Context58:13 You must 4 observe the Sabbath 5
rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. 6
You must look forward to the Sabbath 7
and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. 8
You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,
and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. 9
1 tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”
3 tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.
4 tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14.
5 tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”
6 tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”
7 tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”
8 tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).
9 tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).
