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Ang Tumpak na Pag-aayuno

58 “Sumigaw ka nang malakas, huwag kang magpigil,
    ilakas mo ang iyong tinig na parang trumpeta;
at iyong ipahayag sa aking bayan ang kanilang pagsuway,
    at sa sambahayan ni Jacob ang kanilang mga kasalanan.
Gayunma'y hinahanap nila ako araw-araw,
    at kinalulugdan nilang malaman ang aking mga daan;
na parang sila'y isang bansa na gumawa ng kabutihan,
    at ang tuntunin ng kanilang Diyos ay hindi tinalikuran;
hinihingan nila ako ng matutuwid na kahatulan,
    sila'y nalulugod sa paglapit sa Diyos.
‘Bakit kami ay nag-ayuno, at hindi mo nakikita?
    Bakit hindi mo napapansin ang aming pagpapakumbaba?’
Sa araw ng inyong pag-aayuno ay hinahanap ninyo ang inyong sariling kalayawan,
    at inyong pinahihirapan ang lahat ninyong mga manggagawa.
Narito, kayo'y nag-aayuno upang makipag-away at makipagtalo,
    at upang manakit ng masamang kamao.
Hindi kayo nag-aayuno sa araw na ito,
    upang maiparinig ang inyong tinig sa itaas.
Iyan ba ang ayuno na aking pinili?
    Isang araw upang magpakumbaba ang tao sa kanyang sarili?
Iyon ba'y ang iyuko ang kanyang ulo na parang yantok,
    at maglatag ng damit-sako at abo sa ilalim niya?
Iyo bang tatawagin ito na ayuno,
    at araw na katanggap-tanggap sa Panginoon?

“Hindi ba ito ang ayuno na aking pinili:
    na kalagin ang mga tali ng kasamaan,
    na kalasin ang mga panali ng pamatok,
na palayain ang naaapi,
    at baliin ang bawat pamatok?
Hindi(A) ba ito ay upang ibahagi ang iyong tinapay sa nagugutom,
    at dalhin sa iyong bahay ang dukha na walang tuluyan?
Kapag nakakita ka ng hubad, iyong bihisan;
    at huwag kang magkubli sa iyong sariling laman?
Kung magkagayo'y sisikat ang iyong liwanag na parang umaga,
    at ang iyong kagalingan ay biglang lilitaw;
at ang iyong katuwiran ay mangunguna sa iyo;
    ang kaluwalhatian ng Panginoon ay magiging iyong bantay sa likod.
Kung magkagayo'y tatawag ka at ang Panginoon ay sasagot;
    ikaw ay dadaing, at siya'y magsasabi, Narito ako.

“Kung iyong alisin sa gitna mo ang pamatok,
    ang pang-alipusta, at ang pagsasalita ng masama;
10 kung magmamagandang-loob ka sa gutom,
    at iyong tugunin ang nais ng nagdadalamhati,
kung magkagayo'y sisilang ang iyong liwanag sa kadiliman,
    at ang iyong kadiliman ay magiging parang katanghaliang-tapat.
11 At patuloy na papatnubayan ka ng Panginoon,
    at masisiyahan ang iyong kaluluwa sa tuyong dako,
    at palalakasin ang iyong mga buto;
at ikaw ay magiging parang halamanang nadilig,
    at parang bukal na ang tubig ay hindi nauubos.
12 At mula sa inyo ay itatayo ang dating sirang dako;
    ikaw ay magbabangon ng mga saligan ng maraming salinlahi;
at ikaw ay tatawaging tagapag-ayos ng sira,
    ang tagapagsauli ng mga landas na matatahanan.

13 “Kapag iyong iurong ang iyong paa dahil sa Sabbath,
    sa paggawa ng iyong kalayawan sa aking banal na araw;
at iyong tinawag ang Sabbath bilang isang kasiyahan,
    at marangal ang banal na araw ng Panginoon,
at ito'y iyong pinarangalan, na hindi ka lalakad sa iyong mga sariling lakad,
    ni hahanap ng iyong sariling kalayawan ni magsasalita ng iyong mga salita;
14 kung magkagayo'y malulugod ka sa Panginoon,
    at pasasakayin kita sa mga matataas na dako sa lupa;
at pakakainin kita ng mana ni Jacob na iyong ama,
    sapagkat sinalita ng bibig ng Panginoon.”

What True Worship Is All About

58 The Lord told me,

“Shout out loud. Do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Tell my people that they have refused to obey me.
    Tell the family of Jacob how much they have sinned.
Day after day they worship me.
    They seem ready and willing to know how I want them to live.
They act as if they were a nation that does what is right.
    They act as if they have not turned away from my commands.
They claim to want me to give them fair decisions.
    They seem ready and willing to come near and worship me.
‘We have gone without food,’ they say.
    ‘Why haven’t you noticed it?
We have made ourselves suffer.
    Why haven’t you paid any attention to us?’

“On the day when you fast, you do as you please.
    You take advantage of all your workers.
When you fast, it ends in arguing and fighting.
    You hit one another with your fists.
    That is an evil thing to do.
The way you are now fasting
    keeps your prayers from being heard in heaven.
Do you think that is the way I want you to fast?
    Is it only a time for people to make themselves suffer?
Is it only for people to bow their heads like tall grass bent by the wind?
    Is it only for people to lie down in ashes and clothes of mourning?
Is that what you call a fast?
    Do you think I can accept that?

“Here is the way I want you to fast.

“Set free those who are held by chains without any reason.
    Untie the ropes that hold people as slaves.
Set free those who are crushed.
    Break every evil chain.
Share your food with hungry people.
    Provide homeless people with a place to stay.
Give naked people clothes to wear.
    Provide for the needs of your own family.
Then the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun.
    I will heal you quickly.
I will march out ahead of you.
    And my glory will follow behind you and guard you.
    That’s because I always do what is right.
You will call out to me for help.
    And I will answer you.
You will cry out.
    And I will say, ‘Here I am.’

“Get rid of the chains you use to hold others down.
    Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong.
    Stop saying harmful things about them.
10 Work hard to feed hungry people.
    Satisfy the needs of those who are crushed.
Then my blessing will light up your darkness.
    And the night of your suffering will become as bright as the noonday sun.
11 I will always guide you.
    I will satisfy your needs in a land baked by the sun.
    I will make you stronger.
You will be like a garden that has plenty of water.
    You will be like a spring whose water never runs dry.
12 Your people will rebuild the cities that were destroyed long ago.
    And you will build again on the old foundations.
You will be called One Who Repairs Broken Walls.
    You will be called One Who Makes City Streets Like New Again.

13 “Do not work on the Sabbath day.
    Do not do just anything you want to on my holy day.
Make the Sabbath a day you can enjoy.
    Honor the Lord’s holy day.
Do not work on it.
    Do not do just anything you want to.
    Do not talk about things that are worthless.
14 Then you will find your joy in me.
    I will give you control over the most important places in the land.
And you will enjoy all the good things
    in the land I gave your father Jacob.”
The Lord has spoken.

58 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

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)
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.
‘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.
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.
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?

“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)
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)
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)
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)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One

Fasting that Pleases God

58 “Cry aloud, [a]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(A)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
‘Why(B) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (C)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [b]exploit all your laborers.
(D)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
Is (E)it a fast that I have chosen,
(F)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (G)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (H)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(I)To undo the [c]heavy burdens,
(J)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not (K)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [d]cast out;
(L)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (M)your own flesh?
(N)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And 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 the yoke from your midst,
The [e]pointing of the finger, and (P)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [f]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
(Q)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of [g]Streets to Dwell In.

13 “If (R)you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 (S)Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to (T)ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
(U)The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:1 do not hold back
  2. Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
  3. Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
  4. Isaiah 58:7 wandering
  5. Isaiah 58:9 Lit. sending out of
  6. Isaiah 58:10 Or gloom
  7. Isaiah 58:12 Lit. Paths