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“No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
    lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
    and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry,
    and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
    and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

“Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
    and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
    and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
    ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
    Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
    and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
    and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
    giving you water when you are dry
    and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
    Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
    and a restorer of homes.

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Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice,
    to untie the ropes of the yoke,
and to let the oppressed go free,
    and tear[a] every yoke to pieces?
Is it not to break your bread for the hungry?
    You must bring home[b] the poor, the homeless.
When you see the naked, you must cover him,
    and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.[c]
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall grow quickly.
And your salvation shall go before you;
    the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer.
    You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’
If you remove from among you the yoke,
    the finger-pointing[d] and evil speech,[e]
10 if[f] you offer your soul to the hungry,
    and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted,
then[g] your light shall rise in the darkness,
    and your darkness will be like noon.
11 And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land,
    and he will strengthen your bones,
and you shall be like a well-watered garden,
    and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.
12 And they shall rebuild ancient ruins from you;
    you shall erect the foundations of many generations,[h]
and you shall be called[i] the bricklayer of the breach,
    the restorer of paths to live in.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:6 Literally “you must tear”
  2. Isaiah 58:7 Literally “a house”
  3. Isaiah 58:7 Literally “flesh”
  4. Isaiah 58:9 Literally “stretching out of the finger”
  5. Isaiah 58:9 Literally “the speaking of evil”
  6. Isaiah 58:10 Or “and”
  7. Isaiah 58:10 Or “and”
  8. Isaiah 58:12 Literally “generation and generation”
  9. Isaiah 58:12 Literally “shall be called to you”