IsaiahChapter 58
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1"Shout out loud! Do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a ram's horn.
Tell my people what they have done wrong.
Tell the family of Jacob their sins. 2For day after day they look for me.
They are glad to learn my ways.
They act like a nation that does what is right,
like a nation that has not left the laws of its God.
They ask me for fair decisions.
They are glad to come near to God." 3They say, "Why have we fasted, and you have not seen it?
Why have we made ourselves humble, and you have not noticed?"
"Look, on the day you fast, you do whatever you want.
And you treat all your workers cruelly. 4When you fast, you end up fighting and arguing.
You hit each other with mean fists.
You cannot fast like you do today
and expect your voice to be heard in heaven. 5Is this the kind of fast I have chosen?
Is it only a day for a man to go without food?
Is it just for bowing his head like a reed?
Is it for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast?
Is that a day the LORD will accept? 6Isn't this the fast that I have chosen?
It is to break the chains of evil.
It is to untie the ropes of the yoke.
It is to set free those who are treated cruelly
and to break off every yoke. 7Isn't it sharing your bread with the hungry?
Isn't it bringing the poor and homeless into your house?
Isn't it giving clothes to someone with none when you see him,
and not turning away from your own family? 8Then your light will break out like the sunrise.
You will be healed quickly.
Your right living will go ahead of you.
The glory of the LORD will guard you from behind. 9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer.
You will cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take the yoke away from among you,
if you stop pointing your finger
and saying cruel things, 10and if you give yourself to help the hungry
and meet the needs of those who suffer,
then your light will shine in the darkness.
Your night will be as bright as noon. 11The LORD will always guide you.
He will meet your needs in a land burned by the sun.
He will make your body strong.
You will be like a garden with plenty of water,
like a spring that never runs dry. 12Your people will rebuild the old ruins.
You will build again on the very old foundations.
You will be called the One Who Fixes Broken Walls.
You will be called the One Who Makes Streets Good to Live On Again. 13If you turn your feet away from breaking the Sabbath,
if you do not do whatever you want on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a joy
and call the LORD's holy day worthy of honor,
if you honor it by not going your own way,
not chasing what you want,
and not speaking empty words, 14If you do, you will find your joy in the LORD.
I will make you ride on the high places of the land.
I will feed you with what was given to your father Jacob."
For the LORD himself has said it.