Isaiah 58

True Fasting

“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 house 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 humbledⁱ 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 fastⁿ 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^a will quickly appear;

then your righteousness^b will go before you,

and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.^c

Then you will call,^d and the Lord will answer;^e

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^f and malicious talk,^g

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,^h

then your lightⁱ will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday.^j

The Lord will guide^k you always;

he will satisfy your needs^l in a sun-scorched land^m

and will strengthenⁿ your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,^o

like a spring^p whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins^q

and will raise up the age-old foundations;^r

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,^s

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath^t

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight^u

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,^v

then you will find your joy^w in the Lord,

and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights^x of the land

and to feast on the inheritance^y of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^z