Yesaya 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ¹ 

Why spend ²  your hard-earned money ³  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ⁴  to me and eat what is nourishing! ⁵ 

Enjoy fine food! ⁶ 

Yesaya 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ⁷ 

Because I have been silent for so long, ⁸ 

you are not afraid of me. ⁹ 

[55:2]  ¹ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ² tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ³ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[55:2]  sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).

[57:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ⁹ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.