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)
²For 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.
⁴Your 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.
⁵Is 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)
⁷Is 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)
⁸Then 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)
⁹Then 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)
¹⁰and 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)
¹¹The 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.
¹²Your 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)
¹⁴then 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

Psalm 114

New International Version

Psalm 114

¹When Israel came out of Egypt,^(A)
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
²Judah^(B) became God’s sanctuary,^(C)
Israel his dominion.

³The sea looked and fled,^(D)
the Jordan turned back;^(E)
⁴the mountains leaped^(F) like rams,
the hills like lambs.

⁵Why was it, sea, that you fled?^(G)
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
⁶Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, earth,^(H) at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.^(I)

1 Peter 4

New International Version

Living for God

4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body,^(A) arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.^(B) ²As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires,^(C) but rather for the will of God. ³For you have spent enough time in the past^(D) doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.^(E) ⁴They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.^(F) ⁵But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.^(G) ⁶For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead,^(H) so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

⁷The end of all things is near.^(I) Therefore be alert and of sober mind^(J) so that you may pray. ⁸Above all, love each other deeply,^(K) because love covers over a multitude of sins.^(L) ⁹Offer hospitality^(M) to one another without grumbling.^(N) ¹⁰Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,^(O) as faithful^(P) stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.^(Q) If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,^(R) so that in all things God may be praised^(S) through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.^(T)

Suffering for Being a Christian

¹²Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you^(U) to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice^(V) inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,^(W) so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.^(X) ¹⁴If you are insulted because of the name of Christ,^(Y) you are blessed,^(Z) for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.^(AA) ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household;^(AB) and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?^(AC) ¹⁸And,