58 1 The office of God’s ministers. 2 The works of the hypocrites. 6 The fast of the faithful. 13 Of the true Sabbath.

Cry [a]aloud, spare not: lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they [b]seek me daily, and will know my ways, even as a nation that did righteously, and had not forsaken the statutes of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice: they will draw near unto God, saying,

[c]Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest it not? we have punished ourselves, and thou regardest it not. Behold, in the day of your fast you will seek [d]your will, and require all your debts.

Behold, ye fast to strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do today, to make your voice to be [e]heard above.

Is it such a fast that I have chosen, that a man should afflict his soul for a day, and to bow down his head, as a bull rush, and to lie down in sackcloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fasting, or an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is not this the fasting that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to take off the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every [f]yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that wander, unto thine house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and hide not thyself from [g]thine own flesh?

Then shall thy [h]light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall grow speedily: thy [i]righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall embrace thee.

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the [j]finger, and wicked speaking:

10 If thou [k]pour out thy soul to the hungry, and refresh the troubled soul: then shall thy light spring out in the [l]darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noon day.

11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

12 And they shall be of thee, that shall build the old [m]waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations for many generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, and the restorer of the paths to dwell in.

13 If thou [n]turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy will on mine Holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight to consecrate it, as glorious to the Lord, and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor seeking thine own will, nor speaking a vain word,

14 Then shalt thou delight in the Lord, and I will cause thee to mount upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:1 The Lord thus speaketh to the Prophet, willing him to use all diligence and severity to rebuke the hypocrites.
  2. Isaiah 58:2 They will seem to worship me and have outward holiness.
  3. Isaiah 58:3 He setteth forth the malice and disdain of the hypocrites, which grudge against God, if their works be not accepted.
  4. Isaiah 58:3 Thus he convinceth the hypocrites by the second table, and by their duty toward their neighbor, that they have neither faith nor religion.
  5. Isaiah 58:4 So long as you use contention and oppression, your fasting and prayers shall not be heard.
  6. Isaiah 58:6 That you leave off all your extortions.
  7. Isaiah 58:7 For in him thou seest thyself as in a glass.
  8. Isaiah 58:8 That is, the prosperous estate wherewith God will bless thee.
  9. Isaiah 58:8 The Testimony of thy goodness shall appear before God and man.
  10. Isaiah 58:9 Whereby is meant all manner of injury.
  11. Isaiah 58:10 That is, have compassion on their miseries.
  12. Isaiah 58:10 Thine adversity shall be turned into prosperity.
  13. Isaiah 58:12 Signifying, that of the Jews should come such as should build again the ruins of Jerusalem and Judea: but chiefly this is meant of the spiritual Jerusalem, whose builders were the Apostles.
  14. Isaiah 58:13 If thou refrain thyself from thy wicked works.

True Fasting

58 “Shout it aloud,(A) do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.(B)
Declare to my people their rebellion(C)
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(D)
For day after day they seek(E) me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken(F) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near(G) them.
‘Why have we fasted,’(H) they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(I) ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’(J)

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(K)
    and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(L)
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard(M) on high.
Is this the kind of fast(N) I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble(O) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(P)
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(Q)
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting(R) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(S)
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(T) free
    and break every yoke?(U)
Is it not to share your food with the hungry(V)
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(W)
when you see the naked, to clothe(X) them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(Y)
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(Z)
    and your healing(AA) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a](AB) will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(AC)
Then you will call,(AD) and the Lord will answer;(AE)
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger(AF) and malicious talk,(AG)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(AH)
then your light(AI) will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.(AJ)
11 The Lord will guide(AK) you always;
    he will satisfy your needs(AL) in a sun-scorched land(AM)
    and will strengthen(AN) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(AO)
    like a spring(AP) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(AQ)
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;(AR)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(AS)
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(AT)
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(AU)
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,(AV)
14 then you will find your joy(AW) in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(AX) of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance(AY) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One