58 The Lord says,
‘Shout out! Shout as loudly as you can!
Make as much noise as a trumpet makes!
Tell my people that they have not obeyed me.
Tell the family of Jacob about their sins. [ a ]
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.
5 The way that you fast does not please me at all:
You make yourselves humble for a day.
You bend down your head,
like a piece of weak grass.
You lie down on sackcloth and ashes.
Do you think that you are really fasting when you do that?
Do you think that it pleases me, the Lord ?
6 This is the way that I want you to fast:
You must remove the chains
from prisoners who should not be in prison.
You must stop being cruel
to the people who work for you.
You must let people who are in pain go free.
You must break the yoke
of work that is too hard for weak people. [ b ]
7 Instead, share your food with hungry people.
Give a place in your home
to poor people who have no home.
Give clothes to people who have nothing to wear.
If people in your own family need help,
do not refuse to help them.
8 Then God's light will shine on you,
like the sun's light at dawn.
Very soon, your troubles will go away.
The good things that you do to help others
will be clear for everyone to see.
And the Lord will use his great power
to keep you safe.
9 Then you will ask the Lord for help
and he will answer you.
When you call out to him,
he will say, “Here I am.”
But you must stop being cruel to other people.
Do not accuse people,
and do not say bad things about them.
10 If people are hungry,
share your own food with them.
Help those people who are in pain.
Then your help to them will be like a light
that shines in a dark place.
You will no longer live in darkness,
but you will have light as bright as the sun at noon.
11 The Lord will always be your guide.
He will give you plenty to eat,
even when the ground is dry.
He will make your bodies strong.
You will be like a garden that has plenty of water.
You will be like a spring of water
that never becomes dry.
12 You will build again the cities
which became heaps of stones a long time ago.
You will build your houses on the old foundations.
People will call you, “Builders who mend the walls and the streets with their houses.”
13 So remember to obey the rules for the Sabbath day.
That is my holy day,
so do not just try to please yourselves.
Enjoy the Sabbath day,
and respect it as the Lord 's holy day.
Do not do your usual work on that day.
Do not do things or speak about things,
only to make yourself happy.
14 If you do those things, you will be happy
as you serve me, the Lord .
I will give you all the things that you need.
I will cause crops to grow
on the land that I gave to your ancestor Jacob.’
That is the Lord 's message.
58 Shout as loud as you can and don’t stop.
Shout like a trumpet!
Tell the people what they did wrong.
Tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
2 They still come every day to worship me,
acting as if they want to learn my ways.
They pretend to be a nation that lives right
and obeys the commands of their God.
They ask me to judge them fairly.
They want their God to be near them.
3 They say, “We fast to show honor to you. Why don’t you see us? We starve our bodies to show honor to you. Why don’t you notice us?”
But God says, “You do things to please yourselves on those special days of fasting. And you punish your servants, not your own bodies. 4 You are hungry, but not for food. You are hungry for arguing and fighting, not for bread. You are hungry to hit people with your evil hands. This is not the way to fast if you want your prayers to be heard in heaven! 5 Do you think I want to see people punish their bodies on those days of fasting? Do you think I want people to look sad and bow their heads like dead plants? Do you think I want people to wear mourning clothes and sit in ashes to show their sadness? That is what you do on your days of fasting. Do you think that is what the Lord wants?
6 “I will tell you the kind of day I want—a day to set people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off others. I want a day when you set troubled people free and you take the burdens from their shoulders. 7 I want you to share your food with the hungry. I want you to find the poor who don’t have homes and bring them into your own homes. When you see people who have no clothes, give them your clothes! Don’t hide from your relatives when they need help.”
8 If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your “Goodness” will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the Lord will come following behind you. 9 Then you will call to the Lord , and he will answer you. You will cry out to him, and he will say, “Here I am.”
Stop causing trouble and putting burdens on people. Stop saying things to hurt people or accusing them of things they didn’t do. 10 Feel sorry for hungry people and give them food. Help those who are troubled and satisfy their needs. Then your light will shine in the darkness. You will be like the bright sunshine at noon.
11 The Lord will always lead you and satisfy your needs in dry lands. He will give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring that never goes dry.
12 Your cities have been destroyed for many years, but you will rebuild them and their foundations will last for a long time. You will be called “Fence Fixer” and “Builder of Roads and Houses.”
13 That will happen when you stop sinning against God’s law about the Sabbath and when you stop doing things to please yourself on that special day. You should call the Sabbath a happy day. You should honor the Lord ’s special day by not saying and doing things that you do every other day of the week. 14 Then you could enjoy the Lord . As the Lord himself says, “I could carry you up to the highest mountain and let you enjoy the land that I gave to your father Jacob.”
58 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ?
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
9 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 finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness 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 that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord , honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; and I will cause thee to ride 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.
58 “ ( A ) Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their ( B ) wrongdoing,
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they ( C ) seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done ( D ) righteousness
And ( E ) has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight ( F ) in the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we ( G ) fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not [ a ] notice?’
Behold, on the ( H ) day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast for contention and ( I ) strife, and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you have done today to ( J ) make your voice heard on high!
5 Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it for bowing [ b ] one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out ( K ) sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an ( L ) acceptable day to the Lord ?
6 Is this not the fast that I choose:
To ( M ) release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to ( N ) let the oppressed go free,
And ( O ) break every yoke?
7 Is it not to ( P ) break your bread [ c ] with the hungry
And ( Q ) bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the ( R ) naked, to cover him;
And not to ( S ) hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your ( T ) light will break out like the dawn,
And your ( U ) recovery will spring up quickly;
And your ( V ) righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the ( W ) Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will ( X ) call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you ( Y ) remove the yoke from your midst,
The [ d ] ( Z ) pointing of the finger and ( AA ) speaking wickedness,
10 And if you ( AB ) offer yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the [ e ] need of the afflicted,
Then your ( AC ) light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 And the ( AD ) Lord will continually guide you,
And ( AE ) satisfy your [ f ] desire in scorched places,
And ( AF ) give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a ( AG ) watered garden,
And like a ( AH ) spring of water whose waters do not [ g ] fail.
12 Those from among you will ( AI ) rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will ( AJ ) raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the ( AK ) breach,
The restorer of the [ h ] streets in which to dwell.
13 “If, because of the Sabbath, you ( AL ) restrain your foot
From doing as you wish on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a ( AM ) pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your ( AN ) own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And ( AO ) speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take ( AP ) delight in the Lord ,
And I will make you ride ( AQ ) on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the ( AR ) mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
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 )
2 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.
3 ‘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.
4 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.
5 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 ?
6 “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 )
7 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 )
8 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 )
9 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 )
