Isaiah 57:14-58

English Standard Version

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴And it shall be said,
^(A)“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
    remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
¹⁵For thus says ^(B)the One who is high and lifted up,
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is ^(C)Holy:
^(D)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
    and also ^(E)with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
^(F)to revive the spirit of the lowly,
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶^(G)For I will not contend forever,
    nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
    and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷Because of the iniquity of his ^(H)unjust gain I was angry,
    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸I have seen his ways, ^(I)but I will heal him;
    I will lead him ^(J)and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹    ^(K)creating ^(L)the fruit of the lips.
^(M)Peace, peace, ^(N)to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
    ^(O)“and I will heal him.
²⁰^(P)But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
    for it cannot be quiet,
    and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
²¹^(Q)There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

True and False Fasting

58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
    ^(R)lift up your voice like a trumpet;
^(S)declare to my people their transgression,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
²^(T)Yet they seek me daily
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
    they delight to draw near to God.
³^(U)‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,^[a]
    ^(V)and oppress all your workers.
⁴Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
    will not make your voice to be heard on high.
⁵^(W)Is such the fast that I choose,
    ^(X)a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
    and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the fast that I choose:
    ^(Y)to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps ^(Z)of the yoke,
to let the oppressed^[b] go free,
    and to break every yoke?
⁷Is it not ^(AA)to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    ^(AB)and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸^(AC)Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    ^(AD)and your healing shall spring up speedily;
^(AE)your righteousness shall go before you;
    ^(AF)the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away ^(AG)the yoke from your midst,
    ^(AH)the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰^(AI)if you pour yourself out for the hungry
    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
^(AJ)then shall your light rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be as the noonday.
¹¹And the Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your desire in scorched places
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be ^(AK)like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters do not fail.
¹²^(AL)And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
    the restorer of streets to dwell in.

¹³^(AM)“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
    from doing your pleasure^[c] on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
    and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    or seeking ^(AN)your own pleasure,^[d] or talking idly;^[e]
¹⁴then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    ^(AO)and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;^[f]
^(AP)I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
    ^(AQ)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”