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.
2 They 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." 58:2 Ps 119:151; Is 29:13; 57:3; Jms 4:8
3 "Why have we fasted, but you have not seen? 58:3 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. 58:3 Is 22:12–13; Zch 7:5–6
4 You 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.
5 Will 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? 58:5 Est 4:3; Dn 9:3
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness, 58:6 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? 58:6 Neh 5:10–12; Is 58:9; Jr 34:8
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, 58:7 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, 58:7 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, 58:7 Dt 22:1–4; Lk 10:31–32
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly. 58:8 Is 30:26; 33:24; Jr 30:17; 33:6
Your righteousness will go before you, 58:8 Ps 85:13; Is 62:1
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard. 58:8 Ex 14:19; Is 52:12
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; 58:9 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, 58:9 Pr 6:13
10 and 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, 58:10 Jb 11:17; Ps 37:6; Is 42:16; 58:8
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden 58:11 Sg 4:15; Is 27:3; Jr 31:12
and like a spring whose water never runs dry. 58:11 Jn 4:14; 7:38
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; 58:12 Ezr 6:14; Neh 4:6; Is 49:8; 61:4; Ezk 36:10
you will restore the foundations laid long ago; 58:12 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, 58:13 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, 58:13 Is 55:8
seeking your own pleasure, or talking business; 58:13 Or idly, 58:13 Lit or speak a word
14 then you will delight in the Lord, 58:14 Jb 22:26; Ps 37:4
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, 58:14 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. 58:14 Is 1:20; 40:5