Isaiah 58:9

New Living Translation

Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply. "Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Then you will call to the Lord , and he will answer you. You will cry out to him, and he will say, "Here I am." Stop causing trouble and putting burdens on people. Stop saying things to hurt people or accusing them of things they didn't do.

Update Bible Version
Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

New Century Version
Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer. You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.' "If you stop making trouble for others, if you stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others,

New English Translation
Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.' You must remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I [am]. If thou shalt take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

World English Bible
Then shall you call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

Amplified Bible
"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression], The finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech,

English Standard Version
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thanne thou schalt clepe to help, and the Lord schal here; thou schalt crie, and he schal seie, Lo! Y am present, for Y am merciful, thi Lord God. If thou takist awei a chayne fro the myddis of thee, and ceessist to holde forth the fyngur, and to speke that profitith not;

English Revised Version
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

Berean Standard Bible
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,

Contemporary English Version
When you beg the Lord for help, he will answer, "Here I am!" Don't mistreat others or falsely accuse them or say something cruel.

American Standard Version
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

Bible in Basic English
Then at the sound of your voice, the Lord will give an answer; at your cry he will say, Here am I. If you take away from among you the yoke, the putting out of the finger of shame, and the evil word;

Complete Jewish Bible
Then you will call, and Adonai will answer; you will cry, and he will say, "Here I am." If you will remove the yoke from among you, stop false accusation and slander,

Darby Translation
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger and the unjust speech,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD will answer; thou shalt cry, and He will say: 'Here I am.' If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedness;

King James Version (1611)
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answere; thou shalt cry, and he shal say, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanitie:

New Life Bible
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.' If you take the weight of sin away, and stop putting the blame on others and stop speaking sinful things,

New Revised Standard
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then shalt thou call, and the Lorde shall answere: thou shalt cry and hee shall say, Here I am: if thou take away from the mids of thee the yoke, the putting foorth of the finger, and wicked speaking:

George Lamsa Translation
Then you shall call, and the LORD shall answer you; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here am I. If you remove deceit from your midst and release the prisoners and cease speaking falsehood;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then, shalt thou Call, and Yahweh, will answer, Cry out, and he will say, Behold me! If thou remove, out of thy midst the yoke, The pointing of the finger, and The speaking of iniquity;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou wilt take away the chain out of the midst of thee, and cease to stretch out the finger, and to speak that which profiteth not.

Revised Standard Version
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then if thou callest, the Lorde shall aunswere thee, if thou cryest, he shall say, here I am: yea if thou layest away from thee thy burthens, and holdest thy fingers, and ceassest from vngracious talking:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hearken to thee; while thou art yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If thou remove from thee the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech;

Good News Translation
When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond. "If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word;

Christian Standard Bible®
At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’If you get rid of the yoke among you,the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,

Hebrew Names Version
Then shall you call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

King James Version
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

Lexham English Bible
Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!' If you remove from among you the yoke, the finger-pointing and evil speech,

Literal Translation
Then you shall call, and Jehovah will answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am . If you put the yoke away from among you, the sending out of the finger, and the speaking of iniquity;

Young's Literal Translation
Then thou callest, and Jehovah answereth, Thou criest, and He saith, `Behold Me.' If thou turn aside from thy midst the yoke, The sending forth of the finger, And the speaking of vanity,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then yf thou callest, the LORDE shal answere the: yf thou criest, he shal saye: here I am. Yee yf thou layest awaye thy burthens, and holdest thy fyngers, and ceasest from blasphemous talkinge,

New American Standard Bible
"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

New King James Version
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

Legacy Standard Bible
Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer;You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.'If you remove the yoke from your midst,The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

Contextual Overview

⁸ "Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. ⁹ Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply. "Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! ¹⁰ Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. ¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. ¹² Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shalt thou: Isaiah 1:15, Isaiah 30:19, Isaiah 65:24, Psalms 34:15-17, Psalms 37:4, Psalms 50:15, Psalms 66:18, Psalms 66:19, Psalms 91:15, Psalms 118:5, Jeremiah 29:12, Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 7:7, Matthew 7:8, 1 John 3:21, 1 John 3:22

Here: Genesis 27:18, 1 Samuel 3:4-8

the yoke: Isaiah 58:6

the putting: Isaiah 57:4, Proverbs 6:13

speaking: Isaiah 59:3, Isaiah 59:4, Psalms 12:2, Ezekiel 13:8, Zechariah 10:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:4 - called Genesis 24:15 - before Genesis 24:45 - before Genesis 25:21 - entreated Genesis 31:11 - Here am I Leviticus 6:5 - restore 2 Kings 19:20 - I have heard 2 Chronicles 20:14 - Then upon Job 16:18 - let my cry Job 22:27 - make thy Psalms 145:18 - nigh unto Isaiah 37:21 - Whereas Lamentations 3:57 - drewest Daniel 9:20 - whiles Daniel 10:12 - from Zechariah 13:9 - they shall call John 9:31 - we know Acts 16:30 - brought

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then shall thou call, and the Lord shall answer,.... A spirit of grace and supplication will be poured out upon the people of God; they will then pray without a form, and call upon the Lord in sincerity and truth, with faith and fervency; and the Lord will hear and answer them, and plentifully bestow his favours on them, so that they will have no reason to complain, as in Isaiah 58:3:

thou shalt cry, and he shall say, here I am; he will immediately appear to the help and relief of his people; they shall have his presence with them, to comfort and refresh them, to support and supply them, to protect and defend them:

if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke; of human inventions, doctrines, rites and ceremonies, as in Isaiah 58:6: "the putting forth of the finger"; pointing at those that could not comply with them, by way of scorn and derision, as puritans, schismatics, c. and persecuting them for it and so is the same with smiting with the fist of wickedness, Isaiah 58:4; when this deriding and persecuting spirit is done away, then, and not till then, will the prayers of a people be heard, though under a profession of religion, and under the Protestant name: and speaking vanity; which also must be taken away, or desisted from; even speaking false doctrines, as the Syriac version; or which profits not, as the Vulgate Latin version; profane and vain babblings, 2 Timothy 2:14, and threatening words, to such who will not receive them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then shalt thou call - The sense is, that if we go before God renouncing all our sins, and desirous of doing our duty, then we have a right to expect that he will hear us. But if we go indulging still in sin; if we are false and hollow and hypocritical in our worship; or if, while we keep up the regular forms of devotion, we are nevertheless guilty of oppression, cruelty, and dishonesty, we have no right to expect that he will hear us (see the notes at Isaiah 1:15).

If thou take away ... the yoke - (See the notes at Isaiah 58:6).

The putting forth of the finger - That is, if you cease to contemn and despise others; if you cease to point at them the finger of scorn. It was usual to make use of the middle finger on such occasions. Thus Martial, ii. 28, 2:

Rideto multum -

- et digitum porrigito medium.

So Juvenal, Sat. x. 52:

- mediumque ostenderet unguem.

And speaking vanity - Lowth and Noyes render it thus, ‘The injurious speech.’ Kimchi understands it of words of contention and strife. The word used here (און 'âven) denotes either nothingness, vanity, a vain and empty thing Isaiah 41:29; Zechariah 10:2; or falsehood, deceit Psalms 36:4; Proverbs 17:4; or unworthiness, wickedness, iniquity Job 36:21; Isaiah 1:13; here it means, probably, every kind of false, harsh, and unjust speaking - all of which probably I abounded among the Jews. The Septuagint renders it, ̔Ρῆμα γογγυσμοῦ Rēma gongusmou - ‘The word of murmuring.’