Isaiah 58:3

58:3 They lament, ¹  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ² 

you oppress your workers. ³ 

Leviticus 16:29

Review of the Day of Atonement

16:29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you. ⁴  In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves ⁵  and do no work of any kind, ⁶  both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides ⁷  in your midst,

[58:3]  ¹ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ² tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[16:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “And it [feminine] shall be for you a perpetual statute.” Verse 34 begins with the same clause except for the missing demonstrative pronoun “this” here in v. 29. The LXX has “this” in both places and it suits the sense of the passage, although both the verb and the pronoun are sometimes missing in this clause elsewhere in the book (see, e.g., Lev 3:17).

[16:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” The verb “to humble” here refers to various forms of self-denial, including but not limited to fasting (cf. Ps 35:13 and Isa 58:3, 10). The Mishnah (m. Yoma 8:1) lists abstentions from food and drink, bathing, using oil as an unguent to moisten the skin, wearing leather sandals, and sexual intercourse (cf. 2 Sam 12:16-17, 20; see the remarks in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1054; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 109; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 242).

[16:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all work you shall not do.”

[16:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “the native and the sojourner who sojourns.”