Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 55:2

"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." — Isaiah 55:2 (ASV)

Wherefore do ye spend money ... —Here again the “bread” is that which sustains the true life of the soul. “Labour” stands for the “earnings of labour.” Israel had given her money for that which was “not-bread.” She is called to accept the true bread for that which is “not-money,” namely, as the next verse shows, for the simple “hearing of faith.” “Fatness,” as in Isaiah 25:6, and the “fatted calf” of Luke 15:23, represents the exuberance of spiritual joy.