Isaiah 58
New King James Version

Fasting that Pleases God

58 “Cry aloud,^[a]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
^(A)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
²Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
³‘Why^(B)have we fasted,’they say,‘and You have not seen?
Whyhave we^(C)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And^[b]exploit all your laborers.
⁴^(D)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast asyou dothis day,
To make your voice heard on high.
⁵Is^(E)it a fast that I have chosen,
^(F)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is itto bow down his head like a bulrush,
And^(G)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to theLord?

⁶“Isthis not the fast that I have chosen:
To^(H)loose the bonds of wickedness,
^(I)To undo the^[c]heavy burdens,
^(J)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
⁷Is itnot^(K)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are^[d]cast out;
^(L)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from^(M)your own flesh?
⁸^(N)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
^(O)The glory of theLordshall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and theLordwill answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here Iam.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The^[e]pointing of the finger, and^(P)speaking wickedness,
¹⁰Ifyou extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your^[f]darkness shallbeas the noonday.
¹¹TheLordwill guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
¹²Those from among you
^(Q)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of^[g]Streets to Dwell In.

¹³“If^(R)you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
Fromdoing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holydayof theLordhonorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speakingyour ownwords,
¹⁴^(S)Then you shall delight yourself in theLord;
And I will cause you to^(T)ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
^(U)The mouth of theLordhas spoken.”