Isaia 58:2

Romanian Cornilescu Translation

În toate zilele Mă întreabă, şi vor să afle căile Mele, ca un neam, care ar fi înfăptuit neprihănirea, şi n'ar fi părăsit legea Dumnezeului său. Îmi cer hotărîri drepte, doresc să se apropie de Dumnezeu. -

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they seek: Isaiah 1:11-15, Isaiah 29:13, Isaiah 48:1, Isaiah 48:2, Deuteronomy 5:28, Deuteronomy 5:29, 1 Samuel 15:21-25, Proverbs 15:8, Ezekiel 33:30-33, Matthew 15:7-9, Mark 4:16, Mark 4:17, Mark 6:20, John 5:35, Titus 1:16, Hebrews 6:4-6

they ask: Jeremiah 42:2, Jeremiah 42:20, Mark 12:14, James 1:21, James 1:22, 1 Peter 2:1, 1 Peter 2:2

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 14:36 - Then said the priest Psalms 80:4 - how long Song of Solomon 5:6 - I sought Isaiah 1:12 - When Isaiah 42:20 - opening Isaiah 57:12 - General Jeremiah 7:10 - come Jeremiah 26:2 - all the words Jeremiah 34:15 - ye Jeremiah 42:1 - came Ezekiel 14:7 - and cometh Ezekiel 20:1 - that certain Matthew 13:20 - anon Matthew 20:12 - borne Matthew 23:27 - like Matthew 25:3 - foolish Mark 10:20 - General Luke 8:13 - receive Luke 11:42 - and pass Luke 13:24 - for Luke 13:26 - We Luke 15:29 - Lo Luke 18:11 - God Luke 18:12 - fast John 4:23 - true Acts 4:11 - you Romans 13:2 - ordinance

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yet they seek me daily,.... Which may be considered as an acknowledgment of their external piety; or as a caution to the prophet not to be imposed upon by outward appearances; or as a reason why they should be rebuked sharply: they sought the Lord, either by prayer, or in the ministry of the word; they sought doctrine, as the Targum; they sought him, and that every day, or, however, every Lord's day; and yet they did not seek him with that diligence and intenseness of spirit, with their whole hearts, cordially and sincerely, as they ought to have done; they sought themselves, and the honour of men, rather than the Lord and his glory:

and delight to know my ways; not only his ways of creation and providence, but of grace; and also the ways which he prescribes and directs his people to walk in; not that they had a real delight in them, or in the knowledge of them, or such a delight as truly gracious souls have when they have the presence of God in them; are assisted by his Spirit; have their hearts enlarged with his love; find food for their souls, and have fellowship with the saints; but this delight was only seeming, and at most only in the knowledge and theory of these ways, but not in the practice of them; see

Ezekiel 33:31:

as a nation that did righteousness: in general appeared to be outwardly righteous; had a form of godliness, and name to live, and yet dead, and so destitute of any works of true righteousness, at best only going about to establish a righteousness of their own:

and forsook not the ordinance of their God; the ordinance of assembling together in general; any of the ordinances of God in particular; hearing, reading, singing, praying, especially the ordinance of the supper, constantly attended to by them; see Luke 13:26:

they ask of me the ordinances of justice; not of justice between man and man, but of righteousness and religion with respect to God; they ask what are the ordinances of the Gospel, and the rules of worship and discipline, and whether there are any they are ignorant of; suggesting they were desirous of being instructed in them, and of complying with them:

they take delight in approaching to God; there is no right approaching God but through Christ, and gracious souls take a real delight in this way; but the approaching here is only in an external manner, by the performance of outward duties; and the delight is not in God, and communion with him; but in the service, performed as a work of their own, in which they trust, and in what they expect as the reward of it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yet they seek me daily - The whole description here is appropriate to the character of formalists and hypocrites; and the idea is, that public worship by sacrifice was celebrated daily in the temple, and was not intermitted. It is not improbable also that they kept up the regular daily service in their dwellings.

And delight to know my ways - Probably this means, they profess to delight to know the ways of God; that is, his commands, truths, and requirements. A hypocrite has no real delight in the service of God, or in his truth, but it is true at the same time that there may be a great deal of professed interest in religion. There may be a great deal of busy and bustling solicitude about the order of religious services; the external organization of the church; the ranks of the clergy; and the claims of a liturgy. There may be much pleasure in theological discussion; in the metaphysics of theology; in the defense of what is deemed orthodoxy. There may be much pleasure in the mere music of devotion. There may be pleasure in the voice of a preacher, and in the power of his arguments. And there may be much pleasure in the advancement of the denomination to which we are attached; the conversion of people not from sin, but from a side opposite to us; and not to holiness and to God, but to our party and denomination. True delight in religion is in religion itself; in the service of God as such, and because it is holy. It is not mere pleasure in creeds, and liturgies, and theological discussions, and in the triumph of our cause, nor even in the triumph of Christianity as a mere party measure; but it is delight in God as he is, in his holy service, and in his truth.

As a nation that did righteousness - As a people would do who really loved the ways of righteousness.

They ask of me the ordinances of justice - Their priests and prophets consult about the laws and institutions of religion, as if they were really afraid of violating the divine commands. At the same time that they are full of oppression, strife, and wickedness, they are scrupulously careful about violating any of the commands pertaining to the rites of religion. The same people were subsequently so conscientious that they did not dare to enter the judgment-hall of Pilate lest they should disqualify themselves from partaking of the Passover, at the same time that they were meditating the death of their own Messiah, and were actually engaged in a plot to secure his crucifixion! John 19:28. It is often the case that hypocrites are most scrupulous and conscientious about forms just as they are meditating some plan of enormous guilt, and accomplishing some scheme of deep depravity.

They take delight in approaching to God - There is a pleasure which even a hypocrite has in the services of religion, and we should not conclude that because we find pleasure in prayer and praise, that therefore we are truly pious. Our pleasure may arise from a great many other sources than any just views of God or of his truth, or an evidence that we have that we are his friends.