Isaiah 58:5–10

⁵Is the fast I choose like this,

a day for humankind to humiliate himself^h?

To bow his head like a reed,

and makeⁱ his bed on sackcloth and ashes;

you call this a fast

and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?

⁶Is 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?

⁷Is 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

⁸Then 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.

⁹Then 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

¹⁰if^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.