Passage
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight your soul in richness.
Isaiah 55:2 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.
Isaiah 55:2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight your soul in richness.
Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that your soul may live; And I will cut an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful lovingkindnesses of David.
Isaiah 55:4 Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, A ruler and commander for the peoples.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "light", "spend", "money", "bread", "wages", "does", "satisfy", and "listen". 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 "Ho Every one who thirsts come to..." 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.