Isaiah 58:3-12
New King James Version
3 ‘Why(A) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (B)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [a]exploit all your laborers.
4 (C)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 (D)it a fast that I have chosen,
(E)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (F)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 (G)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(H)To undo the [b]heavy burdens,
(I)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not (J)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [c]cast out;
(K)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (L)your own flesh?
8 (M)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
(N)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 the yoke from your midst,
The [d]pointing of the finger, and (O)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [e]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will 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.
12 Those from among you
(P)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 [f]Streets to Dwell In.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
- Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
- Isaiah 58:7 wandering
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit. sending out of
- Isaiah 58:10 Or gloom
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit. Paths
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.