Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

Cry aloud. The prophet is addressed by God. אל תחשך Spare not the crying; the objective case must be supplied, because חשך is a transitive verb. Like a trumpet, etc. That all may hear.

Yet they seek me daily with their words and thoughts. They wish to know my ways. They express their wish in words, namely, They ask of me for themselves the ordinance of justice, and are desirous to be near me.

Wherefore have we fasted, etc. They fast, and then they say, Wherefore have we fasted. And thou seest not, etc. It is as if thou didst not see, nor take any knowledge of it; for thou dost not help us. The reply to these questions is: Behold in the day of your fast, etc. On the very day of the fast every one that has a dispute with his neighbour proceeds with his lawsuit. עצביכם Your debtors. עצבים means money. Comp. ועצביך and thy wealth (Prov. 5:10); it is probably connected with עצבון labour (Gen. 3:17); comp. יגיע בפיך the labour of thine hands (Ps. 128:2); יגיע מצרים the labour of Egypt (45:14). תנגשו You press. It is written in full with נ, like כהנדוף as is driven, תנדף drive (Ps. ixviii. 3). וכל בעל עצביכם תנגשו=וכל עצביכם תננשו And you press all your debtors. Comp. אשה בעלת יראת יי=אשה יראת יי a woman that feareth the Lord (Prov. 31:30); there are many other instances of this kind of ellipsis.

אגרף Some hard thing to strike with. In this sense it is used in Rabbinical literature. Comp. בעלי אגרפין men with force (Pesachim 53); compare besides באגרף (Ex. 21:18). Others render it a piece of hard earth, and connect it with מגרפותיהם their clods (Joel 1:17). כיום הזה=כיום As ye do this day.

A day for a man to afflict his soul. Repetition of the same idea (a fast) in other words. לכוף To bow down. It is a verb ע״ע similar in form to לקב to curse (Num. 23:11). אנמן Bulrush. A tender plant, that bends its top; it is well known. יַצִּיעַ To spread. The Dagesh in צ compensates for the omission of the radical ;י comp. אצרך I form thee (Jer. 1:5); the full form is יַיְצִיעַ, and its meaning is to place as a couch; comp. יצע was spread (Est. 4:3)

פתח To loose. חרצבות The bands. Comp. Ps. 73:4. מוטה Yoke. Comp. מוטות עלכם the bands of your yoke (Lev. 26:13). To loose the bands, etc. To make the slaves free. Comp. Jer. 1:34. רצוצים The oppressed. The slaves that are oppressed; comp. רצוץ oppressed (Hos. 5:11); רצתי have I oppressed (l Sam. 12:3). Some understand to loose the bands, etc., to refer to the thoughts of man; but I prefer the first explanation.

פרוס Break. Comp. פרש אין להם no man breaketh it unto them (Lam. 4:4); פריסת is divided (Dan. 5:28). It means here to break a loaf of bread, in order to give a part of it to the poor. מְרוּדִים That are cast out. The מ is radical, as in מְעוּנִים habitations (1 Chr. 4:41); comp. מרודי my exile (Lam. 3:19). To the house. To thy house. From thine own flesh. From thy relative. Comp. He is our brother and our flesh (Gen. 37:27)

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, gradually increasing. וארוכתך And thine health. ארוכה is a noun; comp. Jer. 30:17. Some say that ארוכה, lit. length refers here to the time during which the illness is to last; the word מהרה speedily, which follows, agrees well with this explanation. יאספך Shall be thy rereward. Comp. מאסף rereward (Num. 10:25). And thy righteousness shall go, etc. Thus, there will be protection from all sides.

From thy midst. From thy heart, or from the midst of Israel. מוטה Yoke. Slavery. שׁלַח The putting forth. It is a verbal noun similar in form to the infinitive שְׁכַב to lie (1 Kgs. 1:21). The putting forth of thy finger, that is, the stretching out of the hand to smite the neighbour or to take away his property. ודבר And to speak. דבר is a verbal noun.

ותפק And if thou draw out. Comp. ויפק and obtaineth (Prov. 8:35.) נפשך Thy soul. It is, as it were, in the objective case. נענה Afflicted. ענה נפש means always to fast, as may in this case be inferred from the expression תשביע thou wilt satisfy, which follows. Then shall thy light, etc. Thy light shall shine even in darkness; when evil afflicts mankind, thou wilt be delivered.

And the Lord shall guide thee continually. He will be with thee, wherever thou goest. בצחצחות In drought. Comp. צחא is dry (5:13). It is the opposite of fulness. יחליץ Some declare it to be hap. leg., and explain it he will make fat; others render it he will strengthen, comparing it with חלוצי armed (Num. 31:5); others still think that יַחֲלִיץ and יְחַלֵּץ he delivereth (Job 36:15) are the same in meaning; as is the case with יַשְׁלִיחַ (Ex. 8:17) and יְשַׁלַּח he sendeth (Ps. 78:45), with יַשְֹמִיחַ (Ps. 89:43), and יְשַֹמַּח he gladdeneth (Lam. 2:17). This latter explanation is right; comp. He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken (Ps. 34:21); ועצמתיו יחליץ means, therefore, He delivereth his bones from the danger of being broken. לא יכזבו Fail not, are not cut off; comp. כזב leasing (Ps. 4:3), a thing that cannot last but by chance.

ובנו ממך And they that shall be of thee shall build. The foundations of many generations, that is, a building standing on a foundation, which will last for generations. תקומם Thou shalt raise up. It is Polel like תשובב (Ps. 60:3). The restorer of paths to dwell in. After people had ceased to tread them, thou wilt restore them, that people will dwell therein.

If thou turn away, etc. The Lord will lead thee continually (ver. 11), if thou keep back thy foot from the sabbath; or, thou shalt be called the restorer, etc. (ver. 12), if thou turn, etc., both explanations are equally admissible. משבת From walking on sabbath. From doing thy pleasure. Repetition of the same idea. And thou wilt call the sabbath a delight, that thou wilt do no work on it, and thy soul will rejoice in reading the words of the Law. The holy of the Lord. The sabbath. Honourable. The words which follow explain its meaning. And thou shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, which thou art accustomed to do in week days; the same idea is contained in the words from finding thine own pleasure. ודבר דבר Nor speaking a word, concerning any future act, or concerning worldly affairs; thou shalt only speak of the words of the Law. As a general rule observe, that we require tradition for understanding this.

Then shalt thou delight, etc. If thou call the sabbath a delight, then thou shalt find delight in the Lord, as a child does in his father. במתי ארץ The high places of the earth. The holy land. And feed thee with the heritage, etc. The prophet speaks to those that are in exile; therefore he uses the expressions, And I will cause thee to ride and Restorer of paths.