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Selected Verse: Isaiah 58:7 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Isa 58:7 |
King James |
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
deal--distribute (Job 31:16-21).
cast out--rather, reduced [HORSLEY].
naked . . . cover him-- (Mat 25:36).
hide . . . thyself--means to be strange towards them, and not to relieve them in their poverty (Mat 15:5).
flesh--kindred (Gen 29:14). Also brethren in common descent from Adam, and brethren in Christ (Jam 2:15). |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry? - The word renderd 'deal' (פרס pâras), means to divide, to distribute. The idea is, that we are to apportion among the poor that which will be needful for their support, as a father does to his children. This is everywhere enjoined in the Bible, and was especially regarded among the Orientals as an indispensable duty of religion. Thus Job Job 31:16-22 beautifully speaks of his own practice:
If I have witheld the poor from his desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
Or have eaten my morsel myself alone,
And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,
Or any poor without covering; - ...
Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade,
And mine arm be broken from the bone.
And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house - Margin, 'Afflicted' Hospitality to all, and especially to the friendless and the stranger, was one of the cardinal virtues in the Oriental code of morals. Lowth renders this, 'The wandering poor.'
When thou seest the naked ... - This duty is also plain, and is everywhere enjoined in the Bible (compare Mat 25:38).
And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh - That is, from thine own kindred or relations who are dependent on thee. Compare Gen 29:14; Gen 37:27; where the word 'flesh' is used to denote near relations - relations as intimate and dear as if they were a part of our flesh and blood Gen 2:23. To hide oneself from them may denote either, first, to be ashamed of them on account of their poverty or humble rank in life; or, secondly, to witchold from them the just supply of their needs. Religion requires us to treat all our kindred, whatever may be their rank, with kindness and affection, and enjoins on us the duty of providing for the needs of those poor relatives who in the providence of God are made dependent on us. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Cast out - And thereby become wanderers, having no abiding place. To thy house - That thou be hospitable, and make thy house a shelter to them that have none of their own left. Hide not - That seek no occasion to excuse thyself. Thy own flesh - Some confine this to our own kindred; but we can look on no man, but there we contemplate our own flesh, and therefore it is barbarous, not only to tear, but not to love and succour him. Therefore feed him as thou wouldest feed thyself, or be fed; shelter him as thou wouldest shelter thyself, or be sheltered; clothe him as thou wouldest clothe thyself, or be clothed; if in any of these respects thou wert in his circumstances. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Deal thy bread to the hungry - But this thou canst not do, if thou eat it thyself. When a man fasts, suppose he do it through a religious motive, he should give the food of that day, from which he abstains, to the poor and hungry, who, in the course of providence, are called to sustain many involuntary fasts, besides suffering general privations. Wo to him who saves a day's victuals by his religious fast! He should either give them or their value in money to the poor. See Isa 58:6.
That thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house "To bring the wandering poor into thy house" - πτωχους αστεγους, Septuagint; egenos vagosque, Vulgate; and מטלטלין metaltelin, Chaldee. They read, instead of מרודים merudim, הנודים hanudim. מר mer is upon a rasure in the Bodleian MS. The same MS. reads ביתה bayethah, in domum, "into the house." - L. |
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)
19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)
19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?