the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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King James Version
Isaiah 58:6
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Is this not the fast which I choose,To loosen the bonds of wickedness,To release the bands of the yoke,And to let the oppressed go freeAnd break every yoke?
"Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?
Is not this the holy day for which I have given orders: to let loose those who have wrongly been made prisoners, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the crushed go free, and every yoke be broken?
Doth not this fasting rather please me, That thou lose the wicked bands, that thou take of the ouer heauie burthens, that thou let the oppressed go free, and breake all maner of yoke?
Is not this the fast which I have chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, and to send forth free the crushed, and that ye break every yoke?
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
Is this not the fast I have chosen: to open bands of wickedness, to undo thongs of the yoke, and to send out the oppressed ones free; even that you pull off every yoke?
"I will tell you the kind of day I want—a day to set people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off others. I want a day when you set troubled people free and you take the burdens from their shoulders.
Isn't this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
Is not this the fast that I haue chosen? to loose the bandes of wickednesse, to vndoe the heauie burdens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and that ye breake euery yoke?
But this fastinge pleaseth not me, till ye tyme be thou lowse him out of bondage, that is in thy daunger: that thou breake the ooth of wicked bargaynes, that thou let the oppressed go fre, and take from them all maner of burthens.
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, ‘Here I am.'
"[Rather] is this not the fast which I choose, To undo the bonds of wickedness, To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke, To let the oppressed go free And break apart every [enslaving] yoke?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isn't this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
[Is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
"I will tell you the kind of fast I want: Free the people you have put in prison unfairly and undo their chains. Free those to whom you are unfair and stop their hard labor.
No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke.
I'll tell you what it really means to worship the Lord . Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused!
"Here is the sort of fast I want — releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke,
Is not this the fasting, that I haue chosen, to loose the bandes of wickednes, to take off the heauie burdens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and that ye breake euery yoke?
This is the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to cut off the bands of treachery, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke;
Isn't this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
"No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
Is not the time without eating which I choose, a time to take off the chains of sin, and to take the heavy load of sin off the neck? Is it not a time to let those who suffer under a sinful power go free, and to break every load from their neck?
I have not chosen such a fast, saith the Lord; but do thou loose every burden of iniquity, do thou untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is not the fast I have chosen to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and tear off every yoke?
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is not, this, the fast that I must ever choose - To unbind the tight cords of lawlessness, To unloose the bands of the yoke, - and To let the crushed go free, and That every yoke, ye tear off?
Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden.
Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and tear every yoke to pieces?
"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
"Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?
"The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.
Isn't the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke?
Whether not this is more the fastyng, which Y chees? Vnbynde thou the byndingis togidere of vnpitee, releesse thou birthuns pressynge doun; delyuere thou hem free, that ben brokun, and breke thou ech birthun.
"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is not this the fast that I chose -- To loose the bands of wickedness, To shake off the burdens of the yoke, And to send out the oppressed free, And every yoke ye draw off?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
to loose: Nehemiah 5:10-12, Jeremiah 34:8-11, Micah 3:2-4
heavy burdens: Heb. bundles of the yoke
oppressed: Heb. broken. ye break. 1 Timothy 6:1
Reciprocal: Exodus 1:14 - was with rigour Exodus 2:11 - burdens Leviticus 6:5 - restore Leviticus 25:14 - General Judges 9:7 - Hearken 1 Kings 12:11 - I will add 2 Chronicles 10:11 - I will put 2 Chronicles 28:11 - deliver Nehemiah 5:11 - Restore Nehemiah 10:31 - debt Psalms 80:4 - how long Psalms 103:6 - executeth Proverbs 21:13 - at Proverbs 24:11 - General Isaiah 5:7 - he looked Isaiah 14:17 - opened not the house of his prisoners Isaiah 58:9 - the yoke Jeremiah 34:14 - At the Jeremiah 50:33 - they refused Lamentations 5:13 - fell Ezekiel 18:7 - hath not Hosea 6:6 - I desired Hosea 12:6 - keep Amos 4:1 - which oppress Jonah 3:8 - let Micah 6:8 - to do Zechariah 7:9 - saying Matthew 5:7 - are Matthew 5:42 - General Luke 11:46 - ye yourselves Acts 16:30 - brought Galatians 6:2 - Bear James 1:27 - To visit
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Is not this the fast that I have chosen?.... Which God has appointed, he approves of, and is well pleasing in his sight; these are works and services more agreeable to him, which follow, without which the rest will be rejected:
to loose the bands of wickedness; which some understand of combinations in courts of judicature to oppress and distress the poor; others of bonds and contracts unjustly made, or rigorously demanded and insisted on, when they cannot be answered; rather of those things with which the consciences of men are bound in religious matters; impositions upon conscience; binding to the use of stinted forms, and to habits in divine worship, which the word of God has not made necessary:
to undo the heavy burdens. The Septuagint render it, "dissolve the obligations of violent contracts"; such as are obtained by violence; so the Arabic version; or by fraud, as the Syriac version, which translates it, bonds of fraud. The Targum is,
"loose the bonds of writings of a depraved judgment;''
all referring it to unjust bonds and contracts in a civil sense: but rather it regards the loosing or freeing men from all obligation to all human prescriptions and precepts; whatever is after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ; so the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees are called "heavy burdens, grievous to be borne", Matthew 23:4 these should not be laid and bound on men's shoulders, but should be done and taken off of them, as well as all penal laws with which they have been enforced:
and to let the oppressed go free; such as have been broken by oppression, not only in their spirits, but in their purses, by mulcts and fines, and confiscation of goods; and who have been cast into prisons, and detained a long time in filthy dungeons; and where many have perished for the sake of religion, even in Protestant countries:
and that ye break every yoke; of church power and tyranny; everything that is not enjoined and authorized by the word of God; every yoke but the yoke of Christ; all human precepts, and obedience to them; all but the commands of Christ, and obedience to them; no other yoke should be put upon the neck of his disciples but his own.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? - Fasting is right and proper; but that which God approves will prompt to, and will be followed by, deeds of justice, kindness, charity. The prophet proceeds to specify very particularly what God required, and when the observance of seasons of fasting would be acceptable to him.
To loose the bands of wickedness - This is the first thing to be done in order that their fasting might be acceptable to the Lord. The idea is, that they were to dissolve every tie which unjustly bound their fellowmen. The Chaldee renders it, ‘Separate the congregation of impiety;’ but the more probable sense is, that if they were exercising any unjust and cruel authority over others; if they had bound them in any way contrary to the laws of God and the interests of justice, they were to release them. This might refer to their compelling others to servitude more rigidly than the law of Moses allowed; or to holding them to contracts which had been fraudulently made; or to their exacting strict payment from persons wholly incapacitated to meet their obligations; or it might refer to their subjecting others to more rigid service than was allowed by the laws of Moses, but it would not require a very ardent imagination for anyone to see, that if he held slaves at all, that this came fairly under the description of the prophet. A man with a tender conscience who held slaves would have been likely to suppose that this part of the injunction applied to himself.
To undo the heavy burdens - Margin, ‘Bundles of the yoke.’ The Septuagint renders it, ‘Dissolve the obligations of onerous contracts.’ The Chaldee, ‘Loose the obligations of the writings of unjust judgment.’ The Hebrew means, ‘Loose the bands of the yoke,’ a figure taken from the yoke which was borne by oxen, and which seems to have been attached to the neck by cords or bands (see Fragments to Taylor’s Calmer. No. xxviii.) The yoke, in the Scripture, is usually regarded as an emblem of oppression, or compulsory toil, and is undoubtedy so used here. The same word is used to denote ‘burden’ (מוטה môṭâh), which in the subsequent member is rendered ‘yoke,’ and the word which is rendered ‘undo (התר hatı̂r from נתי nātar), is elsewhere employed to denote emancipation from servitude. The phrase here employed would properly denote the release of captives or slaves, and would doubtless be so understood by those whom the prophet addressed. Thus, in Psalms 105:17-20 :
He sent a man before them, even Joseph,
Who was sold for a servant;
Whose feet they hurt with fetters;
He was laid in iron:
Until the time when his word came,
The word of the Lord tried him.
The king sent and loosed him (ויתירהוּ vaytı̂yrēhû),
Even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
And let the oppressed go free - Margin, ‘Broken.’ The Hebrew word רצוצים retsûtsı̂ym is from the word רצץ rātsats, meaning “to break, to break down” (see the notes at Isaiah 42:3); to treat with violence, to oppress. It may be applied to those who are treated with violence in any way, or who are broken down by bard usage. It may refer, therefore, to slaves who are oppressed by bondage and toil; or to inferiors of any kind who are subjected to hard usage by those who are above them; or to the subjects of a tyrant groaning under his yoke. The use of the phrase here, ‘go free,’ however, seems to limit its application in this place to those who were held in bondage. Jerome renders it, ‘Free those who are broken’ (confracti). The Septuagint Τεθρασμένος Tethrasmenos - ‘Set at liberty those who are broken down.’ If slavery existed at the time here referred to, this word would be appropriately understood as including that - at least would be so understood by the slaves themselves - for if any institution deserves to be called oppression, it is theft of slavery.
This interpretation would be confirmed by the use of the word rendered free. That word (חפשׁים chophshı̂ym) evidently refers to the act of freeing a slave. The person who had once been a slave, and who had afterward obtained his freedom, was denominated חפשׁי chophshı̂y (see Jahn, Bib. Ant. Section 171). This word occurs, and is so used, in the following places; Exodus 21:12, ‘And the seventh (year) he shall go free;’ Exodus 21:5, ‘I will not go out free;’ Exodus 26:27, ‘He shall let him go free;’ Deuteronomy 15:12, ‘Thou shalt let him go free;’ Deuteronomy 15:13, ‘When thou sendest him out free’ Deuteronomy 15:18, ‘When thou sendest him away free;’ Job 3:19, ‘The servant is free from his master;’ that is, in the grave, where there is universal emancipation. Compare Jeremiah 34:9-11, Jeremiah 34:14, Jeremiah 34:16 where the same Hebrew word is used, and is applied expressly to the emancipation of slaves. The word is used in other places in the Bible except the following: 1 Samuel 17:25, ‘And make his father’s house free in Israel,’ referring to the favor which was promised to the one who would slay Goliath of Gath. Job 39:5 : ‘Who hath sent out the wild donkey free?’ Psalms 88:5 : ‘Free among the dead.’ The usage, therefore, is settled that the word properly refers to deliverance from servitude. It would be naturally understood by a Hebrew as referring to that, and unless there was something in the connection which made it necessary to adopt a different interpretation, a Hebrew would so understand it of course. In the case before us, such an interpretation would be obvious, and it is difficult to see how a Jew could understand this direction in any other way, if he was an owner. of slaves, than that be should set them at once at liberty.
And that ye break every yoke - A yoke, in the Scriptures, is a symbol of oppression, and the idea here is, that they were to cease all oppressions, and to restore all to their lust and equal rights. The prophet demanded, in order that there might be an acceptable ‘fast,’ that everything which could properly be described as a ‘yoke’ should be broken. How could this command be complied with by a Hebrew if he continued to retain his fellow-men in bondage? Would not its fair application be to lead him to emancipate those who were held as slaves? Could it be true, whatever else he might do, that he would fully comply with this injunction, unless this were done? If now this whole injunction were fairly complied with in his land, who can doubt that it would lead to the emancipation of the slaves? The language is such that it cannot well be misunderstood. The prophet undoubtedly specifies those things which properly denote slavery, and demands that they should all be abandoned in order to an acceptable ‘fast to the Lord,’ and the fair application of this injunction would soon extinguish slavery throughout the world.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 58:6. Let the oppressed go free — How can any nation pretend to fast or worship God at all, or dare to profess that they believe in the existence of such a Being, while they carry on the slave trade, and traffic in the souls, blood, and bodies, of men! O ye most flagitious of knaves, and worst of hypocrites, cast off at once the mask of religion; and deepen not your endless perdition by professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, while ye continue in this traffic!
