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Isaiah 58:9 · World English Bible

Isaiah 58:9 Meaning Then You Will Call

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;

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What does Isaiah 58:9 mean?

Then shalt thou call, and the answer comes, Here I am. The promise turns on a small condition.

From the Ego v. Being reading below.

Isaiah 58:9 through 1 lens

The same verse, read by one tradition.

EGO & BEING

Ego v. Being

Then shalt thou call, and the answer comes, Here I am. The promise turns on a small condition. First the yoke is lifted, the pointing finger drops, the empty talk falls quiet.

So much of what keeps a person unheard is his own noise, the blaming, the accusing, the endless commentary that crowds out any deeper voice. When that pressure on others is set down and the mind grows still, the presence that was always near can finally be felt. Here I am had never gone far. The answer grew audible the moment a person stopped shouting over it.

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Ego v. Being lens

Live Isaiah 58:9 today

  1. Go one hour today without complaining about anything, out loud or in your head. You will be surprised how much of your inner noise was just that.
  2. In a group chat or at dinner, when the conversation turns to picking someone apart, stay out of it. Not to be above it, just to stop adding to the pile.
  3. When someone gives you a reason you find weak, drop the pointing finger and ask a real question instead. The blame was never going to get you what you actually wanted.

How much of what I call unanswered is just me talking over the answer?

The same truth in other traditions

Tao Te Ching

He who talks constantly has little left to say. Silence is where the useful words come from.

Zen

A bell cannot be heard while you are banging on the drum. The answer was never quiet, you were loud.

Judaism · Pirkei Avot

I have found nothing better for a person than silence. Much of what we call speaking is only self defense.

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