Isaiah 58
58
False and True Worship
1Shout 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.
2Yet 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 delight to draw near to God.
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.
4Look, 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.
5Is 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?
6Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7Is 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?
8Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator#58.8 Or vindication shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9Then 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,
10if 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.
11The 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.
12Your 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.
13If 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;#58.13 Heb or speaking words
14then 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.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 58: NRSV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 58
58
True Fasting
1“Cry out loudly, don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2They seek me day after day
and delight to know my ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”#Ps 119:151; Is 29:13; 57:3; Jms 4:8
3“Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?#Mal 3:14; Lk 18:12
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!” #58:3 These are Israel’s words to God.
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.#Is 22:12–13; Zch 7:5–6
4You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?#Est 4:3; Dn 9:3
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,#Jb 36:8; Ps 107:10; Ec 7:26
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?#Neh 5:10–12; Is 58:9; Jr 34:8
7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,#Jb 31:19–20; Is 58:10; Ezk 18:7,16
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,#Mt 25:35–36; Lk 3:11
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?#58:7 Lit not hide yourself from your flesh#Dt 22:1–4; Lk 10:31–32
8Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.#Is 30:26; 33:24; Jr 30:17; 33:6
Your righteousness will go before you,#Ps 85:13; Is 62:1
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.#Ex 14:19; Is 52:12
9At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;#Ps 50:15; Is 55:6; 65:24
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,#Pr 6:13
10and if you offer yourself#58:10 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read offer your bread to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,#Jb 11:17; Ps 37:6; Is 42:16; 58:8
and your night will be like noonday.
11The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden#Sg 4:15; Is 27:3; Jr 31:12
and like a spring whose water never runs dry.#Jn 4:14; 7:38
12Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;#Ezr 6:14; Neh 4:6; Is 49:8; 61:4; Ezk 36:10
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;#1Kg 6:37; Ezr 3:10–12
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13“If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath,#Ex 31:16–17; 35:2–3; Is 56:2–6; Jr 17:21–27
from doing whatever you want 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,#Is 55:8
seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;#58:13 Or idly#58:13 Lit or speak a word
14then you will delight in the Lord,#Jb 22:26; Ps 37:4
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,#Dt 32:13; 33:29; Is 33:16; Hab 3:19
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.#Is 1:20; 40:5
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers