Isaiah 58:1-5
New American Standard Bible 1995
Observances of Fasts
58 “(A)Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their (B)transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 “Yet they (C)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done (D)righteousness
And (E)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight (F)in the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we (G)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not [a]notice?’
Behold, on the (H)day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and (I)strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to (J)make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing [b]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out (K)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an (L)acceptable day to the Lord?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit know
- Isaiah 58:5 Lit his
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.