Isa 58 | HCSB | STEP | “Cry out loudly , don’t hold back ! Raise your voice like a trumpet . Tell My people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins .

‏ Isaiah 58

True Fasting

1 “Cry out loudly, ^{▼▼Lit with throat} don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
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.” ^b
3 “Why have we fasted, but You have not seen? ^c
We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!” ^{▼▼These are Israel’s words to God.}
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers. ^e
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: Garment made of poor quality material and worn as a sign of grief and mourning}sackcloth and ashes? ^g
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness, ^h
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke? ⁱ
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, ^j
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him, ^k
and not to ignore ^{▼▼Lit not hide yourself from} your own flesh and blood? ^m
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly. ⁿ
Your righteousness will go before you, ^o
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard. ^p
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; ^q
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you, ^{▼▼Lit yoke from your midst}
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, ^s
10 and if you offer yourself ^{▼▼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, ^u
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 ^v
and like a spring whose waters never run dry. ^w
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; ^x
you will restore the foundations laid long ago; ^{▼▼Lit foundations generation and generation
,} ^z
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.

13 “If you keep from desecrating ^{▼▼Lit keep your foot from} the Sabbath, ^ab
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, ^ac
seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much; ^{▼▼Lit or speak a word}
14 then you will delight yourself in the Lord, ^ae
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, ^af
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. ^ag