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Look! You fast to quarrel and strife,
    and to strike with a wicked fist.[a]
You shall not fast as you do today,[b]
    to make your voice heard[c] on the height.
Is the fast I choose like this,
    a day for humankind to humiliate himself[d]?
To bow his head like a reed,
    and make[e] his bed on sackcloth and ashes;
you call this a fast
    and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?
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[f] every yoke to pieces?

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:4 Literally “fist of wickedness”
  2. Isaiah 58:4 Literally “the day”
  3. Isaiah 58:4 Literally “cause to hear your voice”
  4. Isaiah 58:5 Literally “his soul”
  5. Isaiah 58:5 Literally “he makes”
  6. Isaiah 58:6 Literally “you must tear”

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(A)
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard(B) on high.
Is this the kind of fast(C) I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble(D) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(E)
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(F)
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting(G) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(H)
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(I) free
    and break every yoke?(J)

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