Isaiah 55:2 (WEB)

Passage

Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in richness.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 55:1 “Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Isaiah 55:2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in richness.

Isaiah 55:3 Turn your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your soul will live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Isaiah 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "spend", "money", "bread", "labor", "doesn", "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 "Hey Come everyone who thirsts to the..." into verse 3's "Turn 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.