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Isaiah 58-60
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah 58-60
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
False and True Worship
58 Shout out; do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.(A)
2 Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they want God on their side.[a](B)
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day
and oppress all your workers.(C)
4 You fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.(D)
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?(E)
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?(F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?(G)
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[b] shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.(H)
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,(I)
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.(J)
11 The Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your needs in parched places
and make your bones strong,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never fail.(K)
12 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 live in.(L)
13 If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests or pursuing your own affairs;(M)
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(N)
Injustice and Oppression to Be Punished
59 See, the Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(O)
2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.(P)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.(Q)
4 No one brings suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas; they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and bearing iniquity.(R)
5 They hatch adders’ eggs
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.(S)
6 Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.(T)
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.(U)
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their ways.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.(V)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and deliverance does not reach us;
we wait for light, but there is only darkness;
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.(W)
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
groping like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among the vigorous[c] as though we were dead.(X)
11 We all growl like bears;
like doves we moan mournfully.
We wait for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.(Y)
12 For our transgressions before you are many,
and our sins testify against us.
Our transgressions indeed are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(Z)
13 transgressing and denying the Lord
and turning away from following our God,
talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.(AA)
14 Justice is turned back,
and deliverance stands at a distance,
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.(AB)
15 Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.(AC)
16 He saw that there was no one
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene,
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.(AD)
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing
and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.(AE)
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render requital.(AF)
19 So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory,
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the Lord drives on.(AG)
20 And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.(AH)
21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouths of your children or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.(AI)
The Ingathering of the Dispersed
60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.(AJ)
2 For darkness shall cover the earth
and thick darkness the peoples,
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.(AK)
3 Nations shall come to your light
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.(AL)
4 Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together; they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried in their nurses’ arms.(AM)
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,[d]
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you;
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.(AN)
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.(AO)
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,[e]
and I will glorify my glorious house.(AP)
8 Who are these that fly like a cloud
and like doves to their windows?
9 For the coastlands shall wait for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has glorified you.(AQ)
10 Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and their kings shall minister to you,
for in my wrath I struck you down,
but in my favor I have had mercy on you.(AR)
11 Your gates shall always be open;
day and night they shall not be shut,
so that nations shall bring you their wealth,
with their kings led in procession.(AS)
12 For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.(AT)
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will glorify where my feet rest.(AU)
14 The descendants of those who oppressed you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.(AV)
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.(AW)
16 You shall suck the milk of nations;
you shall suck the breasts of kings,
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.(AX)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold;
instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze;
instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.(AY)
God the Glory of Zion
19 The sun shall no longer be
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give light to you by night,[f]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.(AZ)
20 Your sun shall no more go down
or your moon withdraw itself,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.(BA)
21 Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands,
so that I might be glorified.(BB)
22 The least of them shall become a clan
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
in its time I will accomplish it quickly.(BC)
Isaiah 58-60
New International Version
Isaiah 58-60
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)
2 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.
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.
4 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.
5 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?
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)
7 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)
8 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)
9 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)
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(BA) of the Lord is not too short(BB) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(BC)
2 But your iniquities have separated(BD)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(BE)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(BF)
your fingers with guilt.(BG)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(BH)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(BI)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(BJ) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(BK)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(BL)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(BM)
and spin a spider’s web.(BN)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(BO)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(BP) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(BQ)
They pursue evil schemes;(BR)
acts of violence mark their ways.(BS)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(BT)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(BU)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(BV)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(BW)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(BX) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(BY) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(BZ)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(CA)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(CB) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(CC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(CD)
13 rebellion(CE) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(CF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(CG)
uttering lies(CH) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(CI) is driven back,
and righteousness(CJ) stands at a distance;
truth(CK) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(CL) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(CM)
16 He saw that there was no one,(CN)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(CO)
so his own arm achieved salvation(CP) for him,
and his own righteousness(CQ) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(CR)
and the helmet(CS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(CT) of vengeance(CU)
and wrapped himself in zeal(CV) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(CW)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(CX) their due.
19 From the west,(CY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(CZ) they will revere his glory.(DA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(DB) of the Lord drives along.[b]
20 “The Redeemer(DC) will come to Zion,(DD)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(DE)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(DF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(DG) who is on you, will not depart from you,(DH) and my words that I have put in your mouth(DI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
The Glory of Zion
60 “Arise,(DJ) shine, for your light(DK) has come,
and the glory(DL) of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness(DM) covers the earth
and thick darkness(DN) is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations(DO) will come to your light,(DP)
and kings(DQ) to the brightness of your dawn.
4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble(DR) and come to you;
your sons come from afar,(DS)
and your daughters(DT) are carried on the hip.(DU)
5 Then you will look and be radiant,(DV)
your heart will throb and swell with joy;(DW)
the wealth(DX) on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels(DY) will cover your land,
young camels of Midian(DZ) and Ephah.(EA)
And all from Sheba(EB) will come,
bearing gold and incense(EC)
and proclaiming the praise(ED) of the Lord.
7 All Kedar’s(EE) flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings(EF) on my altar,(EG)
and I will adorn my glorious temple.(EH)
8 “Who are these(EI) that fly along like clouds,(EJ)
like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands(EK) look to me;
in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[c](EL)
bringing(EM) your children from afar,
with their silver and gold,(EN)
to the honor(EO) of the Lord your God,
the Holy One(EP) of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.(EQ)
10 “Foreigners(ER) will rebuild your walls,
and their kings(ES) will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
in favor(ET) I will show you compassion.(EU)
11 Your gates(EV) will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations(EW)—
their kings(EX) led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve(EY) you will perish;
it will be utterly ruined.(EZ)
13 “The glory of Lebanon(FA) will come to you,
the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,(FB)
to adorn my sanctuary;(FC)
and I will glorify the place for my feet.(FD)
14 The children of your oppressors(FE) will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow down(FF) at your feet
and will call you the City(FG) of the Lord,
Zion(FH) of the Holy One(FI) of Israel.
15 “Although you have been forsaken(FJ) and hated,
with no one traveling(FK) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(FL)
and the joy(FM) of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed(FN) at royal breasts.
Then you will know(FO) that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(FP)
your Redeemer,(FQ) the Mighty One of Jacob.(FR)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,(FS)
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace(FT) your governor
and well-being your ruler.(FU)
18 No longer will violence(FV) be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction(FW) within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation(FX)
and your gates Praise.(FY)
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,(FZ)
and your God will be your glory.(GA)
20 Your sun(GB) will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow(GC) will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous(GD)
and they will possess(GE) the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,(GF)
the work of my hands,(GG)
for the display of my splendor.(GH)
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.(GI)
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly.”(GJ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
- Isaiah 60:9 Or the trading ships
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.