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Isaiah 58:4-6
New English Translation
Isaiah 58:4-6
New English Translation
4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by[a] arguments, brawls,
and fistfights.[b]
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want?[c]
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,[d]
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out[e] on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
6 No, this is the kind of fast I want:[f]
I want you[g] to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed,[h]
and to break every burdensome yoke.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:4 tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”
- Isaiah 58:4 tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”
- Isaiah 58:5 tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”
- Isaiah 58:5 tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 58:5 tn Or “making [their] bed.”
- Isaiah 58:6 tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Isaiah 58:6 tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 58:6 tn Heb “crushed.”
Isaiah 58:4-6
New International Version
Isaiah 58:4-6
New International Version
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(A)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(B) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(C) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(D) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(E)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(F)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Isaiah 58:4-6
King James Version
Isaiah 58:4-6
King James Version
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?
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Isaiah 58:4-6
New King James Version
Isaiah 58:4-6
New King James Version
4 (A)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is (B)it a fast that I have chosen,
(C)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (D)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (E)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(F)To undo the [a]heavy burdens,
(G)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
New English Translation (NET)
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.