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Isaiah 58-59
English Standard Version
Isaiah 58-59
English Standard Version
True and False Fasting
58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
(A)lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(B)declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 (C)Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 (D)‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,[a]
(E)and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 (F)Is such the fast that I choose,
(G)a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
(H)to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps (I)of the yoke,
to let the oppressed[b] go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not (J)to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
(K)and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 (L)Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
(M)and your healing shall spring up speedily;
(N)your righteousness shall go before you;
(O)the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away (P)the yoke from your midst,
(Q)the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 (R)if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
(S)then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be (T)like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 (U)And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
13 (V)“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure[c] on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking (W)your own pleasure,[d] or talking idly;[e]
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
(X)and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;[f]
(Y)I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
(Z)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Evil and Oppression
59 Behold, (AA)the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 (AB)but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 (AC)For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 (AD)No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
(AE)they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders' eggs;
they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 (AF)Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 (AG)Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
(AH)no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
(AI)we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 (AJ)We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
(AK)among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
(AL)we moan and moan like doves;
(AM)we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
(AN)speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Judgment and Redemption
14 (AO)Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him[g]
that there was no justice.
16 (AP)He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 (AQ)He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in (AR)zeal as a cloak.
18 (AS)According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
(AT)to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 (AU)So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
(AV)for he will come like a rushing stream,[h]
which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 (AW)“And (AX)a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
21 “And as for me, (AY)this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, (AZ)and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:3 Or pursue your own business
- Isaiah 58:6 Or bruised
- Isaiah 58:13 Or business
- Isaiah 58:13 Or pursuing your own business
- Isaiah 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word
- Isaiah 58:14 Or of the land
- Isaiah 59:15 Hebrew and it was evil in his eyes
- Isaiah 59:19 Hebrew a narrow river
Isaiah 58-59
New International Version
Isaiah 58-59
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)
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(BA) of the Lord is not too short(BB) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(BC)
2 But your iniquities have separated(BD)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(BE)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(BF)
your fingers with guilt.(BG)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(BH)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(BI)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(BJ) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(BK)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(BL)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(BM)
and spin a spider’s web.(BN)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(BO)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(BP) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(BQ)
They pursue evil schemes;(BR)
acts of violence mark their ways.(BS)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(BT)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(BU)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(BV)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(BW)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(BX) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(BY) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(BZ)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(CA)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(CB) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(CC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(CD)
13 rebellion(CE) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(CF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(CG)
uttering lies(CH) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(CI) is driven back,
and righteousness(CJ) stands at a distance;
truth(CK) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(CL) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(CM)
16 He saw that there was no one,(CN)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(CO)
so his own arm achieved salvation(CP) for him,
and his own righteousness(CQ) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(CR)
and the helmet(CS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(CT) of vengeance(CU)
and wrapped himself in zeal(CV) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(CW)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(CX) their due.
19 From the west,(CY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(CZ) they will revere his glory.(DA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(DB) of the Lord drives along.[b]
20 “The Redeemer(DC) will come to Zion,(DD)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(DE)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(DF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(DG) who is on you, will not depart from you,(DH) and my words that I have put in your mouth(DI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.