Isaiah 58

Observances of Fasts

1“1Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their 2wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins.2Yet they 3seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done 4righteousness And 5has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight 6in the nearness of God.3‘Why have we 7fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not 8notice?’ Behold, on the 9day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.4Behold, you fast for contention and 10strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to 11make your voice heard on high!5Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing 12one’s head like a reed And for spreading out 13sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an 14acceptable day to the Lord?6Is this not the fast that I choose: To 15release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to 16let the oppressed go free, And 17break every yoke?7Is it not to 18break your bread 19with the hungry And 20bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the 21naked, to cover him; And not to 22hide yourself from your own flesh?8Then your 23light will break out like the dawn, And your 24recovery will spring up quickly; And your 25righteousness will go before you; The glory of the 26Lord will be your rear guard.9Then you will 27call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you 28remove the yoke from your midst, The 2930pointing of the finger and 31speaking wickedness,10And if you 32offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the 33need of the afflicted, Then your 34light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.11And the 35Lord will continually guide you, And 36satisfy your 37desire in scorched places, And 38give strength to your bones; And you will be like a 39watered garden, And like a 40spring of water whose waters do not 41fail.12Those from among you will 42rebuild the ancient ruins; You will 43raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the 44breach, The restorer of the 45streets in which to dwell.

Keeping the Sabbath

13“If, because of the Sabbath, you 46restrain your foot From doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a 47pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your 48own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And 49speaking your own word,14Then you will take 50delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride 51on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the 52mouth of the Lord has spoken.”