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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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?

“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?
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?
(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.
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.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:3 Or pursue your own business
  2. Isaiah 58:6 Or bruised
  3. Isaiah 58:13 Or business
  4. Isaiah 58:13 Or pursuing your own business
  5. Isaiah 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word
  6. Isaiah 58:14 Or of the land

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, (A)“Temptations to sin[a] are (B)sure to come, but (C)woe to the one through whom they come! (D)It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.[b] Pay attention to yourselves! (E)If your brother sins, (F)rebuke him, and if he repents, (G)forgive him, and if he sins against you (H)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

(I)The apostles said to the Lord, (J)“Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, (K)“If you had faith like (L)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this (M)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

“Will any one of you who has a servant[c] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and (N)dress properly,[d] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are (O)unworthy servants;[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

11 (P)On the way to Jerusalem (Q)he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[f] (R)who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and (S)show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, (T)praising God with a loud voice; 16 and (U)he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was (V)a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not (W)ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and (X)give praise to God except this (Y)foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; (Z)your faith has (AA)made you well.”[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:1 Greek Stumbling blocks
  2. Luke 17:2 Greek stumble
  3. Luke 17:7 Or bondservant; also verse 9
  4. Luke 17:8 Greek gird yourself
  5. Luke 17:10 Or bondservants
  6. Luke 17:12 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  7. Luke 17:19 Or has saved you

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