Ecclesiasticus 55:2

Nova Vulgata

Quare appenditis argentum non in panibus et laborem vestrum non in saturitate? Audite, audientes me, et comedite bonum, ut delectetur in crassitudine anima vestra.

Parallel Translations

Clementine Latin Vulgate (1592)
Quare appenditis argentum non in panibus, et laborem vestrum non in saturitate ? Audite, audientes me ; et comedite bonum, et delectabitur in crassitudine anima vestra.

Jerome's Latin Vulgate (405)
Quare appenditis argentum non in panibus,
et laborem vestrum non in saturitate?
Audite, audientes me, et comedite bonum,
et delectabitur in crassitudine anima vestra.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

do ye: Isaiah 44:20, Jeremiah 2:13, Hosea 8:7, Hosea 12:1, Habakkuk 2:13, Matthew 15:9, Luke 15:15, Luke 15:16, Romans 9:31, Romans 10:2, Romans 10:3, Philippians 3:4-7, Hebrews 13:9

spend: Heb. weigh, Isaiah 46:6

Hearken: Isaiah 51:1, Isaiah 51:4, Isaiah 51:7, Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 11:13, Psalms 34:11, Proverbs 1:33, Proverbs 7:23, Proverbs 8:32, Mark 7:14, Romans 10:17

eat: Isaiah 25:6, Psalms 22:26, Psalms 36:8, Psalms 63:5, Proverbs 9:5, Jeremiah 31:14, Matthew 22:4, Luke 15:23, John 6:48-58

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:1 - If thou shalt Deuteronomy 30:10 - hearken unto Joshua 22:5 - take Job 21:2 - Hear Job 36:16 - full Psalms 4:6 - many Psalms 39:6 - surely Proverbs 23:5 - that which Ecclesiastes 1:3 - profit Ecclesiastes 4:8 - it is Ecclesiastes 10:15 - labour Song of Solomon 1:2 - thy love Song of Solomon 5:1 - eat Isaiah 43:20 - to give Isaiah 49:9 - They shall feed Isaiah 50:11 - all ye Isaiah 65:23 - shall Jeremiah 12:13 - put Jeremiah 17:24 - if Jeremiah 25:3 - rising Jeremiah 32:9 - weighed Ezekiel 7:19 - they shall not Joel 2:26 - ye shall Amos 5:14 - Seek Habakkuk 2:6 - ladeth Matthew 22:3 - sent Mark 4:3 - Hearken Luke 6:21 - ye that hunger John 6:27 - the meat Acts 2:14 - hearken 2 Peter 1:5 - giving

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?.... Lavish away time, opportunities, and strength, in reading and hearing false doctrine, which is not bread, but chaff; is not wholesome, does not nourish, but is harmful and destructive; eats as does a canker, instead of feeding and refreshing; such as the vain philosophy of the Gentiles, the traditions of the Jews, and the errors and heresies of false teachers:

and your labour for that which satisfieth not? labouring to seek for happiness in worldly things, which is not to be had; or to obtain righteousness by the works of the law, which is not to be attained to in that way; all such labour is in vain, no satisfaction is enjoyed, nor peace and comfort had, nor any solid food; these are husks which swine eat:

hearken diligently unto me; not the prophet, but the Lord himself. The Targum renders it,

"my Word;''

the essential Word, Christ Jesus, hearken to his doctrine, which is bread, and of a satisfying nature:

and eat ye that which is good; not the law, as the Jewish commentators; but the good word of God, the Gospel, which being found and eaten by faith, or mixed with faith by them that hear it, and so digested, is the joy and rejoicing of the heart:

and let your soul delight itself in fatness; in the goodness and fatness of the Lord's house, attending on the word and ordinances with spiritual pleasure and delight; and which is the way to become fat and flourishing in spiritual things; see Psalms 36:8.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wherefore do ye spend money - Margin, ‘Weigh.’ That is, in Hebrew, ‘weigh silver.’ Before money was coined, the precious metals were weighed, and hence, to make a payment is represented as weighing out silver Genesis 23:16.

For that which is not bread - The idea here is, that people are endeavoring to purchase happiness, and are disappointed. Bread is the support of life; it is therefore emblematic of whatever contributes to support and comfort. And in regard to the pursuit of happiness in the pleasures of life, and in ambition, vanity, and vice, people are as much disappointed, as he would be who should spend his money, and procure nothing that would sustain life.

And your labor for that which satisfieth not - You toil, and expend the avails of your labor for that which does not produce satisfaction. What a striking description of the condition of the world! The immortal mind will not be satisfied with wealth, pleasure, or honor. It never has been. Where is the man who is satisfied with his wealth, and who says it is enough? Where is there one who is satisfied with pleasure, and vanity, and gaiety? There is a void in the heart which these things do not, cannot fill. There is a consciousness that the soul was made for higher and nobler purposes, and that nothing but God can meet its boundless desires. Where is the man who has ever been satisfied with ambition? Alexander wept on the throne of the world; and though Diocletian and Charles V descended voluntarily from the throne to private life, it was because there was nothing in royalty to satisfy the soul, and not because they found happiness enough there. There never was a more simple and true description of this whole world than in this expression of Isaiah, that people are spending their money and their labor for that which satisfieth not.

Hearken diligently unto me - The idea is, that by attending to his words and embracing his offers, they would find that without money or price which they were vainly seeking at so much expense and with so much toil.

And eat ... - The prophet here returns to the image in the former verse. They were invited to partake of that which would nourish the soul, and which would fill it with joy.

And let your soul delight itself in fatness - ‘Fatness in the Scriptures is used to denote the richest food Genesis 27:28-39; Job 36:16; Psalms 65:11, and hence, is an emblem of the rich and abundant blessings resulting from the favor of God Psalms 36:9; Psalms 63:5.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 55:2. Wherefore do ye spend — Why should ye be so zealously attached to a doctrine from which your souls derive neither comfort nor nourishment?