Isaiah 58
58
Worship the LORD as He Wants to Be Worshiped
1Cry aloud! Don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Tell my people about their rebellion
and the descendants of Jacob about their sins.
2They look for me every day and want to know my ways.
They act as if they were a nation that has done what is right
and as if they haven’t disregarded God’s judgment ⌞on them⌟.
They ask me for just decrees.
They want God to be near them.
3Why have we fasted if you are not aware of it?
Why have we inflicted pain on ourselves if you don’t pay attention?
Don’t you see that on the days you fast,
you do what you want to do?
You mistreat all your workers.
4Don’t you see that when you fast,
you quarrel and fight and beat your workers?
The way you fast today keeps you from being heard in heaven.
5Is this the kind of fasting I have chosen?
Should people humble themselves for ⌞only⌟ a day?
Is fasting just bowing your head like a cattail
and making your bed from sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you call fasting?
Is this an acceptable day to the Lord?
6This is the kind of fasting I have chosen:
Loosen the chains of wickedness,
untie the straps of the yoke,#58:6 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke.
7Share your food with the hungry,
take the poor and homeless into your house,
and cover them with clothes when you see ⌞them⌟ naked.
Don’t refuse to help your relatives.
8Then your light will break through like the dawn,
and you will heal quickly.
Your righteousness will go ahead of you,
and the glory of the Lord will guard you from behind.
9Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am!”
Get rid of that yoke.
Don’t point your finger and say wicked things.
10If you give some of your own food to ⌞feed⌟ those who are hungry
and to satisfy ⌞the needs of⌟ those who are humble,
then your light will rise in the dark,
and your darkness will become as bright as the noonday sun.
11The Lord will continually guide you
and satisfy you even in sun-baked places.
He will strengthen your bones.
You will become like a watered garden
and like a spring whose water does not stop flowing.
12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the foundations of past generations.
You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls
and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live.
13If you stop trampling on the day of rest
and doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the day of rest a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
if you honor it by not going your own way,
by not going out when you want, and by not talking idly,
14then you will find joy in the Lord.
I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.
I will feed you with the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.
The Lord has spoken.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 58: GW
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 58
58
1“Cry aloud, spare not,
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet they seek me daily,
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did 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 have we fasted, and thou seest it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and thou takest no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,#58.3 Or pursue your own business
and oppress all your workers.
4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a rush,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 #
Acts 8.23. “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
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 him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness 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, and he will say, Here I am.
“If you take away from the midst of you the yoke,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
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 with good things,#58.11 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters fail not.
12And 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“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 your own pleasure,#58.13 Or pursuing your own business or talking idly;
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 Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America