Isaiah 58
International Children’s Bible
How to Honor God
58 The Lord says, “Shout out loud. Don’t hold back.
Shout out loud like a trumpet.
Tell the people about the things they have done against God.
Tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
2 Then they will come every day looking for me.
And they will want to learn my ways.
They will become a nation that does what is right.
They will obey the commands of their God.
They will ask me to judge them fairly.
They will want God to be near them.
3 They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we gave up eating.
But you didn’t see.
We humbled ourselves to honor you.
But you didn’t notice.’”
But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days.
And you are unfair to your workers.
4 On these special days when you do not eat, you argue and fight.
You hit each other with your fists.
You cannot do these things as you do now
and believe I will listen to your prayers.
5 This kind of special day is not what I want.
This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done.
I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant.
I don’t want them to wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness.
This is what you do on your special days when you do not eat.
But do you think this is what the Lord wants?
6 “I will tell you the kind of special day I want.
I want you to free the people you have put in prison unfairly.
Undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair.
Free them from their hard labor.
7 I want you to share your food with hungry people.
I want you to bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours.
Don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
8 If you do these things, your light will shine like the dawn.
Then your wounds will quickly heal.
Your God will walk before you,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then you will call to the Lord, and the Lord will answer you.
You will cry out to the Lord, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“You should stop making trouble for others.
You should stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others.
10 You should feed those who are hungry.
You should take care of the needs of those who are troubled.
Then your light will shine in the darkness.
And you will be bright like sunshine at noon.
11 The Lord will always lead you.
He will satisfy your needs in dry lands.
He will give strength to your bones.
You will be like a garden that has much water.
You will be like a spring that never runs dry.
12 Your people will rebuild the old cities that are now in ruins.
You will rebuild the foundations of these ancient cities.
You will be known for repairing the broken places.
You will be known for rebuilding the roads and houses.
13 “You must obey God’s law about the Sabbath.
You must not do what pleases yourselves on that holy day.
You should call the Sabbath a joyful day.
You should honor the Lord’s holy day.
You should honor it by not doing whatever you please on that day.
You should not say whatever you please on that day.
14 Then you will find joy in the Lord.
And I, the Lord, will carry you to the high places above the earth.
I will let you eat the crops of the land your ancestor Jacob had.”
The Lord has said these things.
Isaiah 58
King James Version
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.
Isaiah 58
English Standard Version
True and False Fasting
58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
(A)lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(B)declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 (C)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 (D)‘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]
(E)and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, 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 (F)Is such the fast that I choose,
(G)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:
(H)to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps (I)of the yoke,
to let the oppressed[b] go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not (J)to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
(K)and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 (L)Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
(M)and your healing shall spring up speedily;
(N)your righteousness shall go before you;
(O)the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away (P)the yoke from your midst,
(Q)the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 (R)if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
(S)then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be (T)like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 (U)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 (V)“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 (W)your own pleasure,[d] or talking idly;[e]
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
(X)and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;[f]
(Y)I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
(Z)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:3 Or pursue your own business
- Isaiah 58:6 Or bruised
- Isaiah 58:13 Or business
- Isaiah 58:13 Or pursuing your own business
- Isaiah 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word
- Isaiah 58:14 Or of the land
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
