Isaiah 55:2 (DRB)

Passage

Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which doth not satisfy you? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 55:1 All you that thirst, come to the waters: and you that have no money make haste, buy, and eat: come ye, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price.

Isaiah 55:2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which doth not satisfy you? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness.

Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear and come to me: hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies of David.

Isaiah 55:4 Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader and a master to the Gentiles.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "spend", "money", "bread", "labour", "doth", "satisfy", and "hearken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "spend", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "All you that thirst come to the..." into verse 3's "Incline your ear and come to me...", so "light" and "spend" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "spend" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.