Isaiah 58

¹Cry aloud, spare not, Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, And show my people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins!

²Yet they seek me daily, And desire to know my ways, As a nation that hath done righteousness, And hath not forsaken the ordinances of their God; They inquire of me concerning the judgments which bring salvation; They long for the coming of God.

³"Wherefore do we fast, and thou seest not? Wherefore do we afflict our souls, and thou dost not regard it?" Behold, in the day of your fasts ye pursue your pleasure, And exact all your labors.

⁴Behold, ye fast in strife and contention, And smiting with the fist of wickedness. Ye do not fast now So that your voice shall be heard on high.

⁵Is this the fast that I approve, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, And lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt thou call this a fast, And a day acceptable to Jehovah?

⁶Is not this the fast that I approve,—To loose the bands of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And to break in pieces every yoke?

⁷Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry, And to bring the poor, that are cast out, to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him, And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

⁸Then shall thy light break forth like the morning, And thy health shall spring forth speedily; Thy salvation shall go before thee, And the glory of Jehovah shall bring up thy rear.

⁹Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Lo, here I am! If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke, The pointing of the finger, and the injurious speech.

¹⁰If thou bring forth thy bread to the hungry, And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then in obscurity shall light arise to thee; Yea, thy darkness shall become as noonday;

¹¹Jehovah shall lead thee continually, And satisfy thee in the time of drought, And strengthen thy bones; Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and a spring of water, Whose waters never fail.

¹²Thy people shall build the ancient desolations, The ruins of many generations shall they restore; Thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of ways for inhabitants.

¹³If thou restrain thy foot from the sabbath, From doing thy pleasure on my holy day, If thou shalt call the sabbath a delight, The holy day of Jehovah honorable, And shalt honor it by refraining from thy work, From doing thy pleasure, and speaking vain words,

¹⁴Then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah. And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, And cause thee to enjoy the inheritance of Jacob, thy father; For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Isaiah 58

¹Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

²Yet 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.

³Wherefore 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.

⁴Behold, 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.

⁵Is 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?

⁶Is 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?

⁷Is 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?

⁸Then 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 rereward.

⁹Then 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;

¹⁰And 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 noonday:

¹¹And 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.

¹²And 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.

¹³If 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:

¹⁴Then 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.