Isaiah 58
58
True and False Fasting
1“Cry aloud; do not hold back;
#
Lev. 25:9; [Joel 2:1] lift up your voice like a trumpet;
#
Mic. 3:8
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 # [ch. 1:11; 29:13; Zech. 7:5, 6] Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 # [Mal. 3:14] ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,#58:3 Or pursue your own business
# [ch. 60:17]; See Neh. 5:1-8 and oppress all your workers.
4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 #
Zech. 7:5 Is such the fast that I choose,
#
Lev. 16:29
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6“Is not this the fast that I choose:
# See Neh. 5:10-12 to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps #ver. 9of the yoke,
to let the oppressed#58:6 Or bruised go free,
and to break every yoke?
7Is it not #ver. 10; Ezek. 18:7; [Matt. 25:35] to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
#
Neh. 5:5
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 # [Job 11:17] Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
#
Jer. 30:17 and your healing shall spring up speedily;
#
Ps. 85:13 your righteousness shall go before you;
# [ch. 52:12] the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away #ver. 6 the yoke from your midst,
#
Prov. 6:13
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 # ver. 7, 8 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
# [See ver. 8 above] then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be #Jer. 31:12like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 # ch. 61:4; 65:21; [Ezra 6:14; Neh. 4:6] And 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 dwell in.
13 # ch. 56:2; See Neh. 13:15-21 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure#58:13 Or business on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking #ver. 3your own pleasure,#58:13 Or pursuing your own business or talking idly;#58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word
14then you shall take delight in the Lord,
#
Deut. 32:13 and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;#58:14 Or of the land
#
Jer. 50:19 I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
# ch. 1:20 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Isaiah 58
58
1“Cry aloud! Don’t spare!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Declare to my people their disobedience,
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet they seek me daily,
and delight to know my ways.
As a nation that did righteousness,
and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God,
they ask of me righteous judgments.
They delight to draw near to God.
3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see?
Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’
“Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
and oppress all your laborers.
4Behold, you fast for strife and contention,
and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high.
5Is this the fast that I have chosen?
A day for a man to humble his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself?
Will you call this a fast,
and an acceptable day to Yahweh?
6“Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen:
to release the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and that you break every yoke?
7Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry,
and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house?
When you see the naked,
that you cover him;
and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8Then your light will break out as the morning,
and your healing will appear quickly;
then your righteousness shall go before you,
and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard.
9Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer.
You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away from among you the yoke,
finger pointing,
and speaking wickedly;
10and if you pour out your soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light will rise in darkness,
and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
11and Yahweh will guide you continually,
satisfy your soul in dry places,
and make your bones strong.
You will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water
whose waters don’t fail.
12Those who will be of you will build the old waste places.
You will raise up the foundations of many generations.
You will be called Repairer of the Breach,
Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
13“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy of Yahweh honorable,
and honor it,
not doing your own ways,
nor finding your own pleasure,
nor speaking your own words,
14then you will delight yourself in Yahweh,
and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth,
and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father;”
for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.
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