The Meaning of Isaiah 58:4 Explained

Isaiah 58:4

KJV: Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

YLT: Lo, for strife and debate ye fast, And to smite with the fist of wickedness, Ye fast not as to -day, To sound in the high place your voice.

Darby: Behold, ye have fasted for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye do not at present fast, to cause your voice to be heard on high.

ASV: Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Behold, ye fast  for strife  and debate,  and to smite  with the fist  of wickedness:  ye shall not fast  as [ye do this] day,  to make your voice  to be heard  on high. 

What does Isaiah 58:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The spiritually insensitive Israelites did not consciously fast so they could be contentious and strive and beat each other up, but these were the results of their fasts. Fasting made them grouchy and belligerent, and they took these sinful feelings out on their neighbors. It would have been better for their neighbors if they had not fasted at all. These religious hypocrites were really fasting for reasons other than mourning over their sinfulness.

Context Summary

Isaiah 58:1-14 - The Fast That God Has Chosen
The divorce between outward rites and inward piety has been the curse of every age. When the Pharisees were plotting our Lord's death, they refused to enter Pilate's hall. Not the bowed head, but the broken heart; not the sackcloth and ashes of the flesh, but the contrition of the soul!
Notice the three paragraphs descriptive of the experiences of the devout and consecrated soul: (1.) The conditions of blessedness, Isaiah 58:6-7. (2.) The successive items which go to make a blessed life, Isaiah 58:8-12. (3.) The true Sabbath-keeping, Isaiah 58:13-14. Primarily, it is inward, not outward. Let us be on our watch against the entrance into our hearts of all thoughts that would break the holy inward calm. Remember to imitate Nehemiah's instructions: Nehemiah 13:16-22. Let the divine peace rule within and be as a sentinel keeping the outward gate, Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:7. Cease to follow your own ways, or find your own pleasures, or speak your own words. Delight yourself in God; so shall you sit with Christ in heavenly places and feed at the heavenly table. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 58

1  The prophet, being sent to reprove hypocrisy,
3  shows the difference between a counterfeit fast and a true
8  He declares what promises are due unto godliness
13  And to the keeping of the Sabbath

What do the individual words in Isaiah 58:4 mean?

Indeed for strife and debate you fast and to strike with the fist of wickedness not You will fast as [you do] this day to make heard on high your voice
הֵ֣ן לְרִ֤יב וּמַצָּה֙ תָּצ֔וּמוּ וּלְהַכּ֖וֹת בְּאֶגְרֹ֣ף רֶ֑שַׁע לֹא־ תָצ֣וּמוּ כַיּ֔וֹם לְהַשְׁמִ֥יעַ בַּמָּר֖וֹם קוֹלְכֶֽם

הֵ֣ן  Indeed 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
לְרִ֤יב  for  strife 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רִיב 
Sense: strife, controversy, dispute.
וּמַצָּה֙  and  debate 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַצָּה  
Sense: strife, contention.
תָּצ֔וּמוּ  you  fast 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: צוּם  
Sense: (Qal) to abstain from food, fast.
וּלְהַכּ֖וֹת  and  to  strike 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
בְּאֶגְרֹ֣ף  with  the  fist 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֶגְרֹף  
Sense: fist.
רֶ֑שַׁע  of  wickedness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶשַׁע  
Sense: wrong, wickedness, guilt.
תָצ֣וּמוּ  You  will  fast 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: צוּם  
Sense: (Qal) to abstain from food, fast.
כַיּ֔וֹם  as  [you  do]  this  day 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
לְהַשְׁמִ֥יעַ  to  make  heard 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
בַּמָּר֖וֹם  on  high 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָרֹום  
Sense: height.
קוֹלְכֶֽם  your  voice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine plural
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.