Isaiah 57:14–58:14

Healing for the Backslider

14 And one shall say,

q“Heap it up! Heap it up!

Prepare the way,

Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

15 For thus says the High and Lofty One

Who inhabits eternity, rwhose name is Holy:

s“I dwell in the high and holy place,

tWith him who has a contrite and humble spirit,

uTo revive the spirit of the humble,

And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

16 vFor I will not contend forever,

Nor will I always be angry;

For the spirit would fail before Me,

And the souls wwhich I have made.

17 For the iniquity of xhis covetousness

I was angry and struck him;

yI hid and was angry,

zAnd he went on 5backsliding in the way of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, and awill heal him;

I will also lead him,

And restore comforts to him

And to bhis mourners.

19 “I create cthe fruit of the lips:

Peace, peace dto him who is far off and to him who is near,”

Says the Lord,

“And I will heal him.”

20 eBut the wicked are like the troubled sea,

When it cannot rest,

Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

21 “There fis no peace,”

Says my God, “for the wicked.”

Fasting that Pleases God

58 “Cry aloud, 1spare not;

Lift up your voice like a trumpet;

aTell My people their transgression,

And the house of Jacob their sins.

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

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

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

And 2exploit all your laborers.

4 dIndeed 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 eit a fast that I have chosen,

fA day for a man to afflict his soul?

Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,

And gto spread out sackcloth and ashes?

Would you call this a fast,

And an acceptable day to the Lord?

6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To hloose the bonds of wickedness,

iTo undo the 3heavy burdens,

jTo let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

7 Is it not kto share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are 4cast out;

lWhen you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from myour own flesh?

8 nThen your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;

oThe glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,

The 5pointing of the finger, and pspeaking wickedness,

10 If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your 6darkness shall be as the noonday.

11 The Lord will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,

And strengthen your bones;

You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

12 Those from among you

qShall build the old waste places;

You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,

The Restorer of 7Streets to Dwell In.

13 “If ryou turn away your foot from the Sabbath,

From doing your pleasure on My holy day,

And call the Sabbath a delight,

The holy day of the Lord honorable,

And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,

Nor finding your own pleasure,

Nor speaking your own words,

14 sThen you shall delight yourself in the Lord;

And I will cause you to tride on the high hills of the earth,

And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.

uThe mouth of the Lord has spoken.”