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Isaiah 58
Lexham English Bible
Isaiah 58
Lexham English Bible
True Fasts and Sabbaths
58 “Call with the throat; you must not keep back!
lift up your voice like a trumpet,
and declare[a] to my people their rebellion,
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet[b] they seek me day by day,
and they desire the knowledge of my ways
like a nation that practiced[c] righteousness,
and had not forsaken the judgment of its God;
they ask me for righteous judgments,[d]
they desire the closeness of God.
3 ‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’
Look! You find delight on the day of your fast,
and you oppress all your workers!
4 Look! You fast to quarrel and strife,
and to strike with a wicked fist.[e]
You shall not fast as you do today,[f]
to make your voice heard[g] on the height.
5 Is the fast I choose like this,
a day for humankind to humiliate himself[h]?
To bow his head like a reed,
and make[i] his bed on sackcloth and ashes;
you call this a fast
and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?
6 Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and tear[j] every yoke to pieces?
7 Is it not to break your bread for the hungry?
You must bring home[k] the poor, the homeless.
When you see the naked, you must cover him,
and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.[l]
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall grow quickly.
And your salvation shall go before you;
the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer.
You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’
If you remove from among you the yoke,
the finger-pointing[m] and evil speech,[n]
10 if[o] you offer your soul to the hungry,
and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted,
then[p] your light shall rise in the darkness,
and your darkness will be like noon.
11 And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land,
and he will strengthen your bones,
and you shall be like a well-watered garden,
and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.
12 And they shall rebuild ancient ruins from you;
you shall erect the foundations of many generations,[q]
and you shall be called[r] the bricklayer of the breach,
the restorer of paths to live in.
13 If you hold your foot back from the Sabbath,
from doing your affairs on my holy day,[s]
if[t] you call the Sabbath a pleasure,
the holy day of Yahweh honorable,
if[u] you honor him more than[v] doing your ways,
than finding your affairs[w] and speaking a word,
14 then you shall take your pleasure in[x] Yahweh,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth,
and I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your ancestor,[y]
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:1 Or “announce”
- Isaiah 58:2 Or “And”
- Isaiah 58:2 Literally “did”
- Isaiah 58:2 Literally “judgments of righteousness”
- Isaiah 58:4 Literally “fist of wickedness”
- Isaiah 58:4 Literally “the day”
- Isaiah 58:4 Literally “cause to hear your voice”
- Isaiah 58:5 Literally “his soul”
- Isaiah 58:5 Literally “he makes”
- Isaiah 58:6 Literally “you must tear”
- Isaiah 58:7 Literally “a house”
- Isaiah 58:7 Literally “flesh”
- Isaiah 58:9 Literally “stretching out of the finger”
- Isaiah 58:9 Literally “the speaking of evil”
- Isaiah 58:10 Or “and”
- Isaiah 58:10 Or “and”
- Isaiah 58:12 Literally “generation and generation”
- Isaiah 58:12 Literally “shall be called to you”
- Isaiah 58:13 Literally “the day of my holiness”
- Isaiah 58:13 Or “and”
- Isaiah 58:13 Literally “and”
- Isaiah 58:13 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 58:13 Hebrew “affair”
- Isaiah 58:14 Or “on”
- Isaiah 58:14 Or “father”
Isaiah 58
New International Version
Isaiah 58
New International Version
True Fasting
58 “Shout it aloud,(A) do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.(B)
Declare to my people their rebellion(C)
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(D)
2 For day after day they seek(E) me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken(F) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near(G) them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(H) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(I) ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’(J)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(K)
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(L)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(M) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(N) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(O) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(P)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(Q)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting(R) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(S)
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(T) free
and break every yoke?(U)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry(V)
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(W)—
when you see the naked, to clothe(X) them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(Y)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(Z)
and your healing(AA) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a](AB) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(AC)
9 Then you will call,(AD) and the Lord will answer;(AE)
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger(AF) and malicious talk,(AG)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(AH)
then your light(AI) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(AJ)
11 The Lord will guide(AK) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(AL) in a sun-scorched land(AM)
and will strengthen(AN) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(AO)
like a spring(AP) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(AQ)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(AR)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(AS)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(AT)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(AU)
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,(AV)
14 then you will find your joy(AW) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(AX) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(AY) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(AZ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
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