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Isaiah 58
New International Version
Isaiah 58
New International Version
True Fasting
58 “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 descendants of Jacob their sins.(D)
2 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.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(H) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(I) 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.
4 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.
5 Is this the kind of fast(N) 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?
6 “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)
7 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)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(Z)
and your healing(AA) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a](AB) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(AC)
9 Then you will call,(AD) and the Lord will answer;(AE)
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(AF) and malicious talk,(AG)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(AH)
then your light(AI) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(AJ)
11 The Lord will guide(AK) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(AL) in a sun-scorched land(AM)
and will strengthen(AN) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(AO)
like a spring(AP) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(AQ)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(AR)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(AS)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(AT)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(AU)
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,(AV)
14 then you will find your joy(AW) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(AX) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(AY) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(AZ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
Isaiah 58
The Message
Isaiah 58
The Message
Your Prayers Won’t Get Off the Ground
58 1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout!
Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They’re busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’
3-5 “Well, here’s why:
“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won’t get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?
6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places
9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.
13-14 “If you watch your step on the Sabbath
and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
God’s holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’
making money, running here and there—
Then you’ll be free to enjoy God!
Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.”
Yes! God says so!
Isaiah 58
Common English Bible
Isaiah 58
Common English Bible
Fasting from injustice
58 Shout loudly; don’t hold back;
raise your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their crime,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek me day after day,
desiring knowledge of my ways
like a nation that acted righteously,
that didn’t abandon their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments,
wanting to be close to God.
3 “Why do we fast and you don’t see;
why afflict ourselves and you don’t notice?”
Yet on your fast day you do whatever you want,
and oppress all your workers.
4 You quarrel and brawl, and then you fast;
you hit each other violently with your fists.
You shouldn’t fast as you are doing today
if you want to make your voice heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I choose,
a day of self-affliction,
of bending one’s head like a reed
and of lying down in mourning clothing and ashes?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke,
setting free the mistreated,
and breaking every yoke?
7 Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry
and bringing the homeless poor into your house,
covering the naked when you see them,
and not hiding from your own family?
8 Then your light will break out like the dawn,
and you will be healed quickly.
Your own righteousness will walk before you,
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the finger-pointing, the wicked speech;
10 if you open your heart to the hungry,
and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,
your light will shine in the darkness,
and your gloom will be like the noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually
and provide for you, even in parched places.
He will rescue your bones.
You will be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water that won’t run dry.
12 They will rebuild ancient ruins on your account;
the foundations of generations past you will restore.
You will be called Mender of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Livable Streets.
13 If you stop trampling the Sabbath,
stop doing whatever you want on my holy day,
and consider the Sabbath a delight,
sacred to the Lord, honored,
and honor it instead of doing things your way,
seeking what you want and doing business as usual,
14 then you will take delight in the Lord.
I will let you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will sustain you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible