Isaiah 58
New Living Translation
True and False Worship
58 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel[a] of their sins!
2 Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond.
“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting
when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please the Lord?
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.
13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Isaiah 58
International Standard Version
False and True Worship
58 “Shout aloud!
Don’t hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Declare to my people their rebellions,[a]
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They[b] seek me day after day,[c]
and are eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practices righteousness
and has not forsaken the justice of their God.
“They ask me to reveal just decisions;
they are eager to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they ask,[d]
‘but you do not see?
‘Why have we humbled ourselves,’[e] they ask,[f]
‘but you take no notice?’”
Fasting that God Approves
“Look! On your fast day you serve your own interest
and oppress all your workers.
4 “Look! You fast only for quarreling, and for[g] fighting,
and for hitting with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and have your voice heard on high.
5 “Is this the kind of fast that I have chosen,
merely a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it merely for bowing down one’s head like a bulrush,
for lying[h] on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you[i] call a fast,
an[j] acceptable day to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the[k] fast that[l] I have been choosing:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
and[m] to untie the cords of the yoke,
and[n] to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry,
and to bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked,
to cover him with clothing,[o]
and not to raise yourself up[p] from your own flesh and blood?”
God’s Reward
8 “Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will spring up quickly;
and your vindication will go before you,
and[q] the glory of the Lord will guard your back.
9 Then you’ll call,
and the Lord will answer;
you’ll cry for help,
and he’ll respond, ‘Here I am.’
“If you do away with the yoke among you,
and[r] pointing fingers and malicious talk;
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the needs of afflicted souls,
then your light will rise in darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your soul in parched places,[s]
and they[t] will strengthen your bones;
and you’ll be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12 And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You’ll raise up the age-old foundations,[u]
and people will call you[v] ‘Repairer of Broken Walls,’
‘Restorer of Streets to Live In.’
13 “If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath,
from[w] pursuing your own interests on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and[x] the Lord’s holy day honorable;
and if you honor it by not going your own ways[y]
and[z] seeking your own pleasure or speaking merely idle[aa] words,
14 then you will take delight in the Lord,
and he[ab] will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
and he[ac] will make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob, your father.
“Yes! The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:1 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT read rebellion
- Isaiah 58:2 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsad LXX; MT reads And they
- Isaiah 58:2 Lit. me day and day; so 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsad MT read me day, day
- Isaiah 58:3 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsad LXX MT lack they ask
- Isaiah 58:3 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab LXX; MT reads ourself
- Isaiah 58:3 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsad LXX MT lack they ask
- Isaiah 58:4 So 1QIsab 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack for
- Isaiah 58:5 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT LXX read and for lying
- Isaiah 58:5 So 1QIsaa 4QIsad LXX (pl.); 1QIsab MT (sing.)
- Isaiah 58:5 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT reads and an
- Isaiah 58:6 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack the
- Isaiah 58:6 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack that
- Isaiah 58:6 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 58:6 So 1QIsaa MT; 1QIsab 4QIsad LXX lack and
- Isaiah 58:7 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack with clothing
- Isaiah 58:7 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read to hide yourself; LXX reads to disregard
- Isaiah 58:8 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab LXX; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 58:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack and
- Isaiah 58:11 1QIsaa spells the word places incorrectly
- Isaiah 58:11 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT reads he; LXX reads and your bones will be strengthened
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit. the foundations of many generations
- Isaiah 58:12 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read you will be called
- Isaiah 58:13 So 1QIsaa 4QIsan; 1QIsab MT lack from
- Isaiah 58:13 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsan; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 58:13 So 1QIsaa 4QIsan MT; 1QIsab reads way
- Isaiah 58:13 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT lack and
- Isaiah 58:13 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsan MT LXX lack merely idle
- Isaiah 58:14 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsan LXX; MT reads and I
- Isaiah 58:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab 4QIsan MT read and I
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
