Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,
Parallel translations
- WEB Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away from among you the yoke, finger pointing, and speaking wickedly;
- KJV Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
- NKJV Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
- NASB “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
- NLT Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If they remove oppression and wicked speech, God will answer their cries with His ready presence. Repentant obedience brings God's attentive nearness.
Overview
The Lord promises that when the yoke, accusing finger, and malicious speech are put away, He will respond to their call, saying Here I am. Communion with God is restored when sin against neighbor is forsaken. This anticipates the gospel reality that, reconciled through Christ, believers draw near to a God who hears and is present with them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Ps 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Jer 29:12–13Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Isa 65:24Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Matt 7:7–8Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Ps 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Ps 118:5In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
- Ps 34:15–17The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Prov 6:13winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers.
- Ps 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Ps 66:18–19If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- Ps 37:4Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
- 1 Jn 3:21–22Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God,
- Isa 57:4Whom are you mocking? At whom do you snarl and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of deceit,
- Isa 58:6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
- Isa 59:13rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Zech 10:2For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
- 1 Sam 3:4–8Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
- Gen 27:18So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
- Isa 30:19O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
- Isa 59:3–4For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
- Ezek 13:8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 58:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.