Isaiah 58
58
How to Honor God
1The Lord says, “Shout out loud. Don’t hold back.
Shout out loud like a trumpet.
Tell my people what they have done against their God;
tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
2They still come every day looking for me
and want to learn my ways.
They act just like a nation that does what is right,
that obeys the commands of its God.
They ask me to judge them fairly.
They want God to be near them.
3They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we fasted,
but you didn’t see.
We humbled ourselves to honor you,
but you didn’t notice.’ ”
But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days,
and you are unfair to your workers.
4On these special days when you fast, you argue and fight
and hit each other with your fists.
You cannot do these things as you do now
and believe your prayers are heard in heaven.
5This kind of special day is not what I want.
This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done.
I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant
and wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness.
This is what you do on your special days when you fast,
but do you think this is what the Lord wants?
6“I will tell you the kind of fast I want:
Free the people you have put in prison unfairly
and undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair
and stop their hard labor.
7Share your food with the hungry
and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours,
and don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
8Then your light will shine like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your God will walk before you,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you stop making trouble for others,
if you stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others,
10if you feed those who are hungry
and take care of the needs of those who are troubled,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and you will be bright like sunshine at noon.
11The Lord will always lead you.
He will satisfy your needs in dry lands
and give strength to your bones.
You will be like a garden that has much water,
like a spring that never runs dry.
12Your people will rebuild the old cities that are now in ruins;
you will rebuild their foundations.
You will be known for repairing the broken places
and for rebuilding the roads and houses.
13“You must obey God’s law about the Sabbath
and not do what pleases yourselves on that holy day.
You should call the Sabbath a joyful day
and honor it as the Lord’s holy day.
You should honor it by not doing whatever you please
nor saying whatever you please on that day.
14Then you will find joy in the Lord,
and I will carry you to the high places above the earth.
I will let you eat the crops of the land your ancestor Jacob had.”
The Lord has said these things.
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Isaiah 58: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 58
58
True Fasts and Sabbaths
1“Cry aloud, do not hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Declare to My people their transgression
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2For day after day they seek Me
and delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not forsake the justice of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”
3“Why have we fasted,
and You have not seen?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and You have not noticed?”
“Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please,
and you oppress all your workers.
4You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today
and have your voice be heard on high.
5Is this the fast I have chosen:
a day for a man to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen:
to break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and tear off every yoke?
7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your home,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and not to turn away
from your own flesh and blood?
8Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,
10and if you give yourself to the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light will go forth in the darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
11The Lord will always guide you;
He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land
and strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will restore the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of the Breach,
Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.
13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath,
from doing as you please on My holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
if you honor it by not going your own way
or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
14then you will delight yourself in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the land
and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.