Isaiah 58:4-12

New American Standard Bible

⁴ Behold, you fast for contention and ^(A)strife, and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you have done today to ^(B)make your voice heard on high!
⁵ Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it for bowing ^[a]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out ^(C)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an ^(D)acceptable day to the Lord?
⁶ Is this not the fast that I choose:
To ^(E)release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to ^(F)let the oppressed go free,
And ^(G)break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to ^(H)break your bread ^[b]with the hungry
And ^(I)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the ^(J)naked, to cover him;
And not to ^(K)hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ Then your ^(L)light will break out like the dawn,
And your ^(M)recovery will spring up quickly;
And your ^(N)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the ^(O)Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will ^(P)call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you ^(Q)remove the yoke from your midst,
The ^[c](R)pointing of the finger and ^(S)speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ And if you ^(T)offer yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the ^[d]need of the afflicted,
Then your ^(U)light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
¹¹ And the ^(V)Lord will continually guide you,
And ^(W)satisfy your ^[e]desire in scorched places,
And ^(X)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a ^(Y)watered garden,
And like a ^(Z)spring of water whose waters do not ^[f]fail.
¹² Those from among you will ^(AA)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will ^(AB)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the ^(AC)breach,
The restorer of the ^[g]streets in which to dwell.