True Fasting

58 “Cry out loudly, don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day
and delight to know my ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”(A)

“Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?(B)
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!” [a]

“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(C)
You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?(D)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(E)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(F)
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(G)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(H)
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?[b](I)
Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(J)
Your righteousness will go before you,(K)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(L)

At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(M)
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(N)
10 and if you offer yourself[c] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(O)
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden(P)
and like a spring whose water never runs dry.(Q)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(R)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;(S)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath,(T)
from doing whatever you want on my holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,(U)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;[d][e]
14 then you will delight in the Lord,(V)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(W)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(X)

Footnotes

  1. 58:3 These are Israel’s words to God.
  2. 58:7 Lit not hide yourself from your flesh
  3. 58:10 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read offer your bread
  4. 58:13 Or idly
  5. 58:13 Lit or speak a word

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)
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.
‘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.
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.
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?

“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)
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)
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)
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

  1. Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One