Isaiah 58
58
The Chosen Fast
1Cry aloud, do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet,
and show My people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2#Isa 29:13; Titus 1:16 Yet they seek Me daily
and delight to know My ways,
as a nation that has done righteousness
and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for the ordinances of justice;
they take delight in approaching God.
3#Mal 3:14; Lev 16:29 “Why have we fasted
and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves
and You take no notice?”
Certainly, on the day of your fast you find your desire
and are exacting on all your laborers.
4#1Ki 21:9–13; Joel 2:13–14 Certainly, you fast for strife and debate
and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You do not fast as you do this day,
to make your voice to be heard on high.
5#Zec 7:5; Lev 16:29 Is it such a fast that I have chosen,
a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast
and an acceptable day to the Lord?
6#Ne 5:10–12 Is not this the fast that I have chosen:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke?
7#Eze 18:7; Isa 58:10; Eze 18:16 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
and bring the poor who are outcasts into your house?
When you see the naked, to cover him
and not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8#Ex 14:19; Job 11:17 Then your light shall break forth as the morning,
and your healing shall spring forth quickly,
and your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your reward.
9#Pr 6:13; Ps 12:2 Then you shall call, and the Lord shall answer;
you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am.
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10#Job 11:17; Isa 58:7–8 and if you give yourself to the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light shall rise in obscurity,
and your darkness shall become as the noonday.
11#SS 4:15; Jer 31:12 And the Lord shall guide you continually,
and satisfy your soul in drought,
and strengthen your bones;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12#Isa 61:4; Am 9:11 Those from among you shall rebuild 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 Paths in which to Dwell.
13#Ps 84:2; 84:10 If because of the Sabbath you turn away your foot
from doing your pleasure on My holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight,
the holy day of the Lord honorable,
and honor it, not doing your own ways,
nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
14#Dt 32:13; Job 22:26 then you shall delight yourself in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth,
and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
For the mouth of the Lord has spokenit.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 58: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
Isaiah 58
58
True Fasting
1The LORD says, “Shout as loud as you can! Tell my people Israel about their sins! 2They worship me every day, claiming that they are eager to know my ways and obey my laws. They say they want me to give them just laws and that they take pleasure in worshipping me.”
3The people ask, “Why should we fast if the LORD never notices? Why should we go without food if he pays no attention?”
The LORD says to them, “The truth is that at the same time as you fast, you pursue your own interests and oppress your workers. 4Your fasting makes you violent, and you quarrel and fight. Do you think this kind of fasting will make me listen to your prayers? 5When you fast, you make yourselves suffer; you bow your heads low like a blade of grass, and spread out sackcloth and ashes to lie on. Is that what you call fasting? Do you think I will be pleased with that?
6“The kind of fasting I want is this: remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. 7#Mt 25.35Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.
8“Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. 9When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond.
“If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; 10if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. 11And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never runs dry. 12Your people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on the old foundations. You will be known as the people who rebuilt the walls, who restored the ruined houses.”
The Reward for Keeping the Sabbath
13The LORD says, “If you treat the Sabbath as sacred and do not pursue your own interests on that day; if you value my holy day and honour it by not travelling, working, or talking idly on that day, 14then you will find the joy that comes from serving me. I will make you honoured all over the world, and you will enjoy the land I gave to your ancestor, Jacob. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.