Isaiah 9:4
Context9:4 For their oppressive yoke
and the club that strikes their shoulders,
the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, 1
you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. 2
Isaiah 58:4
Context58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by 3 arguments, brawls,
and fistfights. 4
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.


[9:4] 1 tn Heb “for the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the scepter of the oppressor against him.” The singular pronouns are collective, referring to the people. The oppressed nation is compared to an ox weighed down by a heavy yoke and an animal that is prodded and beaten.
[9:4] 2 sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.
[58:4] 3 tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”