The Meaning of Isaiah 58:13 Explained

Isaiah 58:13

KJV: If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

YLT: If thou dost turn from the sabbath thy foot, Doing thine own pleasure on My holy day, And hast cried to the sabbath, 'A delight,' To the holy of Jehovah, 'Honoured,' And hast honoured it, without doing thine own ways, Without finding thine own pleasure, And speaking a word.

Darby: If thou turn back thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of Jehovah, honourable; and thou honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking idle words;

ASV: If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If thou turn away  thy foot  from the sabbath,  [from] doing  thy pleasure  on my holy  day;  and call  the sabbath  a delight,  the holy  of the LORD,  honourable;  and shalt honour  him, not doing  thine own ways,  nor finding  thine own pleasure,  nor speaking  [thine own] words: 

What does Isaiah 58:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

If the Israelites practiced the Mosaic legislation with the right attitude and applied it properly to their lives, God would be pleased. Isaiah was not saying the Mosaic legislation was wrong, only that the legislation as his audience was practicing it was not pleasing to God. They were obeying to further their own selfish purposes. They should have obeyed to further God"s purposes out of love for Him (cf. Matthew 6:10). For the Israelites, Sabbath observance was best suited to teach this lesson. The Sabbath day provided an opportunity for them to reorient themselves to spiritual reality once a week. It was not a fast but a feast day.
"The Lord is more interested in enjoyment of his blessings through obedience than in self-imposed deprivations." [1]
"Turn your foot" means walk away from.

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 58:13 mean?

If you turn away from the Sabbath your foot [From] doing your pleasure on day My holy and call the Sabbath a delight the holy [day] of Yahweh honorable and shall honor Him not doing your own ways nor finding your own pleasure nor speaking [your own] words
אִם־ תָּשִׁ֤יב מִשַּׁבָּת֙ רַגְלֶ֔ךָ עֲשׂ֥וֹת חֲפָצֶ֖יךָ בְּי֣וֹם קָדְשִׁ֑י וְקָרָ֨אתָ לַשַּׁבָּ֜ת עֹ֗נֶג לִקְד֤וֹשׁ יְהוָה֙ מְכֻבָּ֔ד וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ֙ מֵעֲשׂ֣וֹת דְּרָכֶ֔יךָ מִמְּצ֥וֹא חֶפְצְךָ֖ וְדַבֵּ֥ר דָּבָֽר

תָּשִׁ֤יב  you  turn  away 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
מִשַּׁבָּת֙  from  the  Sabbath 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common singular
Root: שַׁבָּת  
Sense: Sabbath.
רַגְלֶ֔ךָ  your  foot 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
עֲשׂ֥וֹת  [From]  doing 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
חֲפָצֶ֖יךָ  your  pleasure 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: חֵפֶץ  
Sense: delight, pleasure.
בְּי֣וֹם  on  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
קָדְשִׁ֑י  My  holy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
וְקָרָ֨אתָ  and  call 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לַשַּׁבָּ֜ת  the  Sabbath 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שַׁבָּת  
Sense: Sabbath.
עֹ֗נֶג  a  delight 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹנֶג  
Sense: exquisite delight, daintiness, delight, pleasantness.
לִקְד֤וֹשׁ  the  holy  [day] 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: קָדֹושׁ  
Sense: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart.
יְהוָה֙  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מְכֻבָּ֔ד  honorable 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Participle, masculine singular
Root: כָּבֵד  
Sense: to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured.
וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ֙  and  shall  honor  Him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּבֵד  
Sense: to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured.
מֵעֲשׂ֣וֹת  not  doing 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
דְּרָכֶ֔יךָ  your  own  ways 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
מִמְּצ֥וֹא  nor  finding 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
חֶפְצְךָ֖  your  own  pleasure 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: חֵפֶץ  
Sense: delight, pleasure.
וְדַבֵּ֥ר  nor  speaking 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
דָּבָֽר  [your  own]  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.