Isaiah 58:2-4

EasyEnglish Bible

² Every day my people come to worship me.
    It seems that they want to know my ways.
They seem like a nation of people
    who are doing the right things.
They seem to be obeying the law of their God.
    They ask me to decide things fairly.
Yes, they seem to want to be near to me.
³ They say to me, “We have fasted to please you,
    but you do not see it.
We make ourselves humble
    and you do not even look.”
Listen to me! Yes you fast,
    but you do it to please yourselves.
At the same time as you are fasting,
    you are being cruel to the people who work for you.
⁴ Yes! While you are fasting,
    you are also quarrelling and you are fighting.
    You hit each other with your fists.
If you want your prayers to reach me in heaven,
    you cannot continue to fast in the way that you do today.