Isaiah 58
World English Bible
58 “Cry aloud! Don’t spare!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Declare to my people their disobedience,
and to 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 didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God,
they ask of me righteous judgments.
They delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see?
Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’
“Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
and oppress all your laborers.
4 Behold, you fast for strife and contention,
and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the fast that I have chosen?
A day for a man to humble his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself?
Will you call this a fast,
and an acceptable day to Yahweh?
6 “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen:
to release the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and that you break every yoke?
7 Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry,
and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house?
When you see the naked,
that you cover him;
and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light will break out as the morning,
and your healing will appear quickly;
then your righteousness shall go before you,
and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer.
You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away from among you the yoke,
finger pointing,
and speaking wickedly;
10 and if you pour out your soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light will rise in darkness,
and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
11 and Yahweh will guide you continually,
satisfy your soul in dry places,
and make your bones strong.
You will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water
whose waters don’t fail.
12 Those who will be of you will build the old waste places.
You will raise up the foundations of many generations.
You will be called Repairer of the Breach,
Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day;
and call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy of Yahweh honorable;
and honor it,
not doing your own ways,
nor finding your own pleasure,
nor speaking your own words,
14 then you will delight yourself in Yahweh,
and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth,
and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father;”
for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.
Isaiah 58
Holman Christian Standard Bible
True Fasting
58 “Cry out loudly,[a] don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Tell My people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek Me day after day
and delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”(A)
3 “Why have we fasted, but You have not seen?(B)
We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!”[b]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(C)
4 You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?(D)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(E)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(G)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(H)
and not to ignore[c] your own flesh and blood?(I)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(J)
Your righteousness will go before you,(K)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(L)
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(M)
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,[d]
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(N)
10 and if you offer yourself[e] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(O)
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden(P)
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.(Q)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(R)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;[f](S)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating[g] the Sabbath,(T)
from doing whatever you want on My holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,(U)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much;[h]
14 then you will delight yourself in the Lord,(V)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(W)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(X)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:1 Lit with throat
- Isaiah 58:3 These are Israel’s words to God.
- Isaiah 58:7 Lit not hide yourself from
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit yoke from your midst
- Isaiah 58:10 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read offer your bread
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit foundations generation and generation
- Isaiah 58:13 Lit keep your foot from
- Isaiah 58:13 Lit or speak a word
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