2 For day after day they seek me out;

they seem eager to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that does what is right

and has not forsaken the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions

and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,

‘and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please

and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,

and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

only a day for people to humble themselves?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed

and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the Lord?

2 Yet they seek me daily,

And delight to know my ways,

As a nation that did righteousness,

And forsook not the ordinance of their God:

They ask of me the ordinances of justice;

They take delight in approaching to God.

3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not?

Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?

Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure,

And exact all your labours.

4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate,

And to smite with the fist of wickedness:

Ye shall not fast as ye do this day,

To make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen?

A day for a man to afflict his soul?

Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush,

And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Wilt thou call this a fast,

And an acceptable day to the Lord?

2 Yet they act so pious!

They come to the Temple every day

and seem delighted to learn all about me.

They act like a righteous nation

that would never abandon the laws of its God.

They ask me to take action on their behalf,

pretending they want to be near me.

3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.

‘Why aren’t you impressed?

We have been very hard on ourselves,

and you don’t even notice it!’

“I will tell you why!” I respond.

“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.

Even while you fast,

you keep oppressing your workers.

4 What good is fasting

when you keep on fighting and quarreling?

This kind of fasting

will never get you anywhere with me.

5 You humble yourselves

by going through the motions of penance,

bowing your heads

like reeds bending in the wind.

You dress in burlap

and cover yourselves with ashes.

Is this what you call fasting?

Do you really think this will please the Lord?

2 Yet they seek Me daily,

And delight to know My ways,

As a nation that did righteousness,

And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.

They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;

They take delight in approaching God.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?

Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,

And exploit all your laborers.

4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,

And to strike with the fist of wickedness.

You will not fast as you do this day,

To make your voice heard on high.

5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,

A day for a man to afflict his soul?

Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,

And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?

Would you call this a fast,

And an acceptable day to the Lord?

2 They still come every day looking for me

and want to learn my ways.

They act just like a nation that does what is right,

that obeys the commands of its God.

They ask me to judge them fairly.

They want God to be near them.

3 They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we fasted,

but you didn’t see.

We humbled ourselves to honor you,

but you didn’t notice.’ ”

But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days,

and you are unfair to your workers.

4 On these special days when you fast, you argue and fight

and hit each other with your fists.

You cannot do these things as you do now

and believe your prayers are heard in heaven.

5 This kind of special day is not what I want.

This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done.

I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant

and wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness.

This is what you do on your special days when you fast,

but do you think this is what the Lord wants?

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God. 3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors. 4 Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that doeth righteousness, and hath not forsaken the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of righteousness, they take delight in approaching to God:

3 —Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth you, and exact all your labours. 4 Behold, ye have fasted for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye do not at present fast, to cause your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul, —that he should bow down his head as a bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Jehovah?

2 They look for me every day and want to know my ways. 

They act as if they were a nation that has done what is right 

and as if they haven’t disregarded God’s judgment ⸤on them⸥. 

They ask me for just decrees. 

They want God to be near them. 

3 Why have we fasted if you are not aware of it? 

Why have we inflicted pain on ourselves if you don’t pay attention? 

Don’t you see that on the days you fast, 

you do what you want to do? 

You mistreat all your workers. 

4 Don’t you see that when you fast, 

you quarrel and fight and beat your workers? 

The way you fast today keeps you from being heard in heaven. 

5 Is this the kind of fasting I have chosen? 

Should people humble themselves for ⸤only⸥ a day? 

Is fasting just bowing your head like a cattail 

and making your bed from sackcloth and ashes? 

Is this what you call fasting? 

Is this an acceptable day to the Lord? 

2 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.”

3 “Why have we fasted, but You have not seen?

We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!”

“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,

and oppress all your workers.

4 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.

5 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?

Will you call this a fast

and a day acceptable to the Lord?

2 Yet day after day they seek me

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness

and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments,

they delight to draw near to God.

3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?

Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,

and oppress all your workers.

4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today

will not make your voice heard on high.

5 Is such the fast that I choose,

a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,

and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,

a day acceptable to the Lord?

2 Yet they seek me day by day,

and they desire the knowledge of my ways

like a nation that practiced righteousness,

and had not forsaken the judgment of its God;

they ask me for righteous judgments,

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.

You shall not fast as you do today,

to make your voice heard on the height.

5 Is the fast I choose like this,

a day for humankind to humiliate himself?

To bow his head like a reed,

and make his bed on sackcloth and ashes;

you call this a fast

and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?

2 Day after day they worship me.

They seem ready and willing to know how I want them to live.

They act as if they were a nation that does what is right.

They act as if they have not turned away from my commands.

They claim to want me to give them fair decisions.

They seem ready and willing to come near and worship me.

3 ‘We have gone without food,’ they say.

‘Why haven’t you noticed it?

We have made ourselves suffer.

Why haven’t you paid any attention to us?’

“On the day when you fast, you do as you please.

You take advantage of all of your workers.

4 When you fast, it ends in arguing and fighting.

You hit one another with your fists.

That is an evil thing to do.

The way you are now fasting

keeps your prayers from being heard in heaven.

5 Do you think that is the way I want you to fast?

Is it only a time for a man to make himself suffer?

Is it only for people to bow their heads like tall grass that is bent by the wind?

Is it only for people to lie down on black cloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast?

Do you think I can accept that?

2 “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,

As a nation that has done righteousness

And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.

They ask Me for just decisions,

They delight in the nearness of God.

3 ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?

Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’

Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,

And drive hard all your workers.

4 “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.

You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.

5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?

Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed

And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?

Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?