(יד) וְאָמַ֥ר סֹֽלּוּ־סֹ֖לּוּ פַּנּוּ־דָ֑רֶךְ הָרִ֥ימוּ מִכְשׁ֖וֹל מִדֶּ֥רֶךְ עַמִּֽי׃ (ס) (טו) כִּי֩ כֹ֨ה אָמַ֜ר רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֗א שֹׁכֵ֥ן עַד֙ וְקָד֣וֹשׁ שְׁמ֔וֹ מָר֥וֹם וְקָד֖וֹשׁ אֶשְׁכּ֑וֹן וְאֶת־דַּכָּא֙ וּשְׁפַל־ר֔וּחַ לְהַחֲיוֹת֙ ר֣וּחַ שְׁפָלִ֔ים וּֽלְהַחֲי֖וֹת לֵ֥ב נִדְכָּאִֽים׃ (טז) כִּ֣י לֹ֤א לְעוֹלָם֙ אָרִ֔יב וְלֹ֥א לָנֶ֖צַח אֶקְּצ֑וֹף כִּי־ר֙וּחַ֙ מִלְּפָנַ֣י יַֽעֲט֔וֹף וּנְשָׁמ֖וֹת אֲנִ֥י עָשִֽׂיתִי׃ (יז) בַּעֲוֺ֥ן בִּצְע֛וֹ קָצַ֥פְתִּי וְאַכֵּ֖הוּ הַסְתֵּ֣ר וְאֶקְצֹ֑ף וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ שׁוֹבָ֖ב בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ לִבּֽוֹ׃ (יח) דְּרָכָ֥יו רָאִ֖יתִי וְאֶרְפָּאֵ֑הוּ וְאַנְחֵ֕הוּ וַאֲשַׁלֵּ֧ם נִֽחֻמִ֛ים ל֖וֹ וְלַאֲבֵלָֽיו׃ (יט) בּוֹרֵ֖א נוב [נִ֣יב] שְׂפָתָ֑יִם שָׁל֨וֹם ׀ שָׁל֜וֹם לָרָח֧וֹק וְלַקָּר֛וֹב אָמַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה וּרְפָאתִֽיו׃ (כ) וְהָרְשָׁעִ֖ים כַּיָּ֣ם נִגְרָ֑שׁ כִּ֤י הַשְׁקֵט֙ לֹ֣א יוּכָ֔ל וַיִּגְרְשׁ֥וּ מֵימָ֖יו רֶ֥פֶשׁ וָטִֽיט׃ (כא) אֵ֣ין שָׁל֔וֹם אָמַ֥ר אֱלֹהַ֖י לָרְשָׁעִֽים׃ (ס) (א) קְרָ֤א בְגָרוֹן֙ אַל־תַּחְשֹׂ֔ךְ כַּשּׁוֹפָ֖ר הָרֵ֣ם קוֹלֶ֑ךָ וְהַגֵּ֤ד לְעַמִּי֙ פִּשְׁעָ֔ם וּלְבֵ֥ית יַעֲקֹ֖ב חַטֹּאתָֽם׃ (ב) וְאוֹתִ֗י י֥וֹם יוֹם֙ יִדְרֹשׁ֔וּן וְדַ֥עַת דְּרָכַ֖י יֶחְפָּצ֑וּן כְּג֞וֹי אֲשֶׁר־צְדָקָ֣ה עָשָׂ֗ה וּמִשְׁפַּ֤ט אֱלֹהָיו֙ לֹ֣א עָזָ֔ב יִשְׁאָל֙וּנִי֙ מִשְׁפְּטֵי־צֶ֔דֶק קִרְבַ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים יֶחְפָּצֽוּן׃ (ג) לָ֤מָּה צַּ֙מְנוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א רָאִ֔יתָ עִנִּ֥ינוּ נַפְשֵׁ֖נוּ וְלֹ֣א תֵדָ֑ע הֵ֣ן בְּי֤וֹם צֹֽמְכֶם֙ תִּמְצְאוּ־חֵ֔פֶץ וְכָל־עַצְּבֵיכֶ֖ם תִּנְגֹּֽשׂוּ׃ (ד) הֵ֣ן לְרִ֤יב וּמַצָּה֙ תָּצ֔וּמוּ וּלְהַכּ֖וֹת בְּאֶגְרֹ֣ף רֶ֑שַׁע לֹא־תָצ֣וּמוּ כַיּ֔וֹם לְהַשְׁמִ֥יעַ בַּמָּר֖וֹם קוֹלְכֶֽם׃ (ה) הֲכָזֶ֗ה יִֽהְיֶה֙ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵ֔הוּ י֛וֹם עַנּ֥וֹת אָדָ֖ם נַפְשׁ֑וֹ הֲלָכֹ֨ף כְּאַגְמֹ֜ן רֹאשׁ֗וֹ וְשַׂ֤ק וָאֵ֙פֶר֙ יַצִּ֔יעַ הֲלָזֶה֙ תִּקְרָא־צ֔וֹם וְי֥וֹם רָצ֖וֹן לַיהוָֽה׃ (ו) הֲל֣וֹא זֶה֮ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵהוּ֒ פַּתֵּ֙חַ֙ חַרְצֻבּ֣וֹת רֶ֔שַׁע הַתֵּ֖ר אֲגֻדּ֣וֹת מוֹטָ֑ה וְשַׁלַּ֤ח רְצוּצִים֙ חָפְשִׁ֔ים וְכָל־מוֹטָ֖ה תְּנַתֵּֽקוּ׃ (ז) הֲל֨וֹא פָרֹ֤ס לָֽרָעֵב֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים מְרוּדִ֖ים תָּ֣בִיא בָ֑יִת כִּֽי־תִרְאֶ֤ה עָרֹם֙ וְכִסִּית֔וֹ וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִתְעַלָּֽם׃ (ח) אָ֣ז יִבָּקַ֤ע כַּשַּׁ֙חַר֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ֖ מְהֵרָ֣ה תִצְמָ֑ח וְהָלַ֤ךְ לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ צִדְקֶ֔ךָ כְּב֥וֹד יְהוָ֖ה יַאַסְפֶֽךָ׃ (ט) אָ֤ז תִּקְרָא֙ וַיהוָ֣ה יַעֲנֶ֔ה תְּשַׁוַּ֖ע וְיֹאמַ֣ר הִנֵּ֑נִי אִם־תָּסִ֤יר מִתּֽוֹכְךָ֙ מוֹטָ֔ה שְׁלַ֥ח אֶצְבַּ֖ע וְדַבֶּר־אָֽוֶן׃ (י) וְתָפֵ֤ק לָֽרָעֵב֙ נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ נַעֲנָ֖ה תַּשְׂבִּ֑יעַ וְזָרַ֤ח בַּחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲפֵלָתְךָ֖ כַּֽצָּהֳרָֽיִם׃ (יא) וְנָחֲךָ֣ יְהוָה֮ תָּמִיד֒ וְהִשְׂבִּ֤יעַ בְּצַחְצָחוֹת֙ נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְעַצְמֹתֶ֖יךָ יַחֲלִ֑יץ וְהָיִ֙יתָ֙ כְּגַ֣ן רָוֶ֔ה וּכְמוֹצָ֣א מַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־יְכַזְּב֖וּ מֵימָֽיו׃ (יב) וּבָנ֤וּ מִמְּךָ֙ חָרְב֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם מוֹסְדֵ֥י דוֹר־וָד֖וֹר תְּקוֹמֵ֑ם וְקֹרָ֤א לְךָ֙ גֹּדֵ֣ר פֶּ֔רֶץ מְשֹׁבֵ֥ב נְתִיב֖וֹת לָשָֽׁבֶת׃ (יג) אִם־תָּשִׁ֤יב מִשַּׁבָּת֙ רַגְלֶ֔ךָ עֲשׂ֥וֹת חֲפָצֶ֖יךָ בְּי֣וֹם קָדְשִׁ֑י וְקָרָ֨אתָ לַשַּׁבָּ֜ת עֹ֗נֶג לִקְד֤וֹשׁ יְהוָה֙ מְכֻבָּ֔ד וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ֙ מֵעֲשׂ֣וֹת דְּרָכֶ֔יךָ מִמְּצ֥וֹא חֶפְצְךָ֖ וְדַבֵּ֥ר דָּבָֽר׃ (יד) אָ֗ז תִּתְעַנַּג֙ עַל־יְהוָ֔ה וְהִרְכַּבְתִּ֖יךָ עַל־בָּ֣מֳותֵי אָ֑רֶץ וְהַאֲכַלְתִּ֗יךָ נַחֲלַת֙ יַעֲקֹ֣ב אָבִ֔יךָ כִּ֛י פִּ֥י יְהוָ֖ה דִּבֵּֽר׃ (ס)
(14) [Adonai} says: Build up, build up a highway! Clear a road! Remove all obstacles from the road of My people! (15) For thus said God who high aloft Forever dwells, whose name is holy: I dwell on high, in holiness; Yet with the contrite and the lowly in spirit— Reviving the spirits of the lowly, Reviving the hearts of the contrite. (16) For I will not always contend, I will not be angry forever: Nay, I who make spirits flag, Also create the breath of life. (17) For their sinful greed I was angry; I struck them and turned away in My wrath. Though stubborn, they follow the way of their hearts, (18) I note how they fare and will heal them: I will guide them and mete out solace to them, And to the mourners among them (19) heartening, comforting words: It shall be well, Well with the far and the near —said Adonai— And I will heal them. (20) But the wicked are like the troubled sea Which cannot rest, Whose waters toss up mire and mud. (21) There is no safety —said my God— For the wicked. (1) Cry with full throat, without restraint; Raise your voice like a ram’s horn! Declare to My people their transgression, To the House of Jacob their sin. (2) To be sure, they seek Me daily, Eager to learn My ways. Like a nation that does what is right, That has not abandoned the laws of its God, They ask Me for the right way, They are eager for the nearness of God: (3) “Why, when we fasted, did You not see? When we starved our bodies, did You pay no heed?” Because on your fast day You see to your business And oppress all your laborers! (4) Because you fast in strife and contention, And you strike with a wicked fist! Your fasting today is not such As to make your voice heard on high. (5) Is such the fast I desire, A day for people to starve their bodies? Is it bowing the head like a bulrush And lying in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call that a fast, A day when Adonai is favorable? (6) No, this is the fast I desire: To unlock fetters of wickedness, And untie the cords of the yoke To let the oppressed go free; To break off every yoke. (7) It is to share your bread with the hungry, And to take the wretched poor into your home; When you see the naked, to clothe him, And not to ignore your own kin. (8) Then shall your light burst through like the dawn And your healing spring up quickly; Your Vindicator shall march before you, The Presence of Adonai shall be your rear guard. (9) Then, when you call, Adonai will answer; When you cry, God will say: Here I am. If you banish the yoke from your midst, The menacing hand, and evil speech, (10) And you offer your compassion to the hungry And satisfy the famished creature— Then shall your light shine in darkness, And your gloom shall be like noonday. (11) Adonai will guide you always; God will slake your thirst in parched places And give strength to your bones. You shall be like a watered garden, Like a spring whose waters do not fail. (12) People from your midst shall rebuild ancient ruins, You shall restore foundations laid long ago. And you shall be called “Repairer of fallen walls, Restorer of lanes for habitation.” (13) If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, From pursuing your affairs on My holy day; If you call the sabbath “delight,” Adonai’s holy day “honored”; And if you honor it and go not your ways Nor look to your affairs, nor strike bargains— (14) Then you can seek the favor of Adonai. I will set you astride the heights of the earth, And let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob— For the mouth of Adonai has spoken.
Isaiah 57:14 [Adonai] say: The speaker is unspecified. The assumption that God is the speaker (R. Joseph Kara, R. Eliezer of Beaugency) joins this verse to verse 15 Such a reading reinforce the literary coherence of the haftarah, which begins at verse 14. A Masoretic tradition puts a setumah or minor paragraph break after verse 14 a sign that connects this verse to the preceding one and assumes that the speaker is the one who "trusts in god in verse 13 (Kimchi) Alternatively , it is the prophet who speaks God's word (Rashi).
Build up, Build up: Doubling of words is a stylistic hallmark of Isaiah 40-66. Compare to Isa. 40:1; 51:9, 12 17; 52:1; 57:19 This feature serves to reinforce the speech (see Kimhi on Isa. 40:1)
15. He who high aloft/Forever dwells: Hebrew ram ve-nisa shokhen 'ad .. a depiction divine transcendence that is joined to a statement of immanence. These are two poles of Biblical theology
Yet with the contrite and lowly of spirit: Despite God exalted status, Adonai is preset to the lowly as well (Kimhi; R. Jospeh Kaspi) Elsewhere this theology is expressed in liturgy; "Adonai is close to the brokenhearted; those crushed in spirit God delivers." (Ps. 34:19) Later rabbinic teachings repeatedly celebrated this combination of divine attributes (B. Sotah 5a Tanhuma Va-yera' 2; Yalkut Shimoni 1:856) Medieval Jewish moral literature considers contrition and lowly spirit to exemplify the ideal of humility and frequently invokes this passage.
17. their That is of Israel, "My People" (V.14) (Transl.)
19. It shall be well, /Well with the far and the near: God's blessing of shalom ins extended to all those who merit divine healing and comfort (V. 18) An old tradition interpreted "the far" as the righteous who observes the Torah from "of old," and "the near" as those who repent and now turn to Torah (Targum Jonathan; and later R. Isaiah di Trani) R. Abbahu used this passage to exalt the newly penitent over the righteous (B. Berakhot 34 b) but Rashi stressed that "both are equal" as the formulation suggests.
20. the wicked are like the troubled sea: The image is one of agitation, violently buffeted to and from (Ibn Bil'am) the inner turbulence gives them no rest and keeps them far from God.
Isaiah 58:3-9 The instruction is dominated by patterns of questions and answer. It begins with the query of the people, "Why (lamah) when we fasted, did You not see?" and the divine response, "Because (Hen) you fast in strife" (vv 3-4). There then follows a rhetorical question, "Is such (hakhazeh) the fast I desire? and the rhythmic answer that echoes it, "No , (surely) this (halo'zeh) is the fast I desire:... It is (halo') to share your bread with the hungry" (vv5-7).
13-14 These verses are an appendix to the rebuke in verses 1-13. They are linked to it by the key terms hafetz (vv. 2-3, 13) and derekh (vv 2, 13),
13. go not your ways/ Nor look to your affairs: Hebrew me'asot derakhekha and mi-metzo' heftzekha, These are technical expression having to do with business affairs. Their exact Akkadian cognates are both used in mercantile contexts.
14. For the Mouth of Adonai has spoken: This is a technical formula; Hebrew ki pi YHVH dibber. It gives authority to the prophet's words and is used to cite and reapply an earlier prophecy or instruction. In the present case, the divine promise "I will set you astride (ve-hirkavtikah) the heights of the earth (al bamotei 'aretz) , and let you enjoy (Va-ha'akhlatikah) the heritage (nahalta) of your father Jacob" evokes Moses' song in Deut. 32:9 and 13. There, with precisely similar language, the people are told that Jacob is Adonai's "allotment (nahalato)" and that God sustained him (va-yo'khal) and "set him atop the highlands (yarkivehu 'al bamotei 'aretz) That account of divine care is now transformed into a prophecy of future beneficence a new settlement in the land, made conditional upon Shabbat observance. For another use of this formula with a reapplied prophecy, see the citation of Num. 24:18-19 in Obadiah 1:18 in (in the haftarah for Va-yishlach for Sephardim).
The haftarah is cited as the prophetic reading for Yom Kippur morning in the Talmud (B. Megillah 31a) Rashi adds that this is because it deals with repentance, emphasizing the phrase "No, this is the fast I desire" (Isa. 58:6), which introduces a series of instructions for a reformed religious life. According to an ancient tradition, the various phrases of Isa. 58:13 were reinterpreted in terms of various events in the sacral calendar. The words li-kdosh YHWH mekhubad, "Adonai's holy day (you call ) 'honored"", are applied there to Yom Kippur (Leviticus Rabbah 34:16) One may also observe that the language of fasting and self-affliction in Isa. 58:3-5), especially the phrase "we starve our bodies ("iniynu nafsheinu)" echoes the terminology of the Torah reading for the morning of Yom Kippur. Specifically, one of the injunctions of that day is you shall practice self-denial (ve'iniytem 'et nafshoteikhem) " (Lev. 16:31).
it is possible that the prophet himself had this Pentateuchal source in mind, even as he reinterprets it. Whatever the case, the juxtaposition of these two reading in the synagogue service invites the listener to reflect on the relationship between ritual acts and their spiritual purpose. The moral challenge that this haftarah offers is at the center of Jewish piety.
All commentary from; JPS Bible Commentary Series; Haftarot commentary by Michael Fishbane, 2002 Jewish Publication Society