Isa 58 | NASB1995 | STEP | “ Cry loudly , do not hold back ; Raise your voice like a trumpet , And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins .

Isaiah 58

Observances of Fasts

1 ^a“Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their ^btransgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 “Yet they ^cseek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done ^drighteousness
And ^ehas not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight ^fin the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we ^gfasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not ^{▼▼ Lit know}notice?’
Behold, on the ⁱday of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and ^jstrife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to ^kmake your voice heard on high.
5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing ^{▼▼ Lit his}one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out ^msackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an ⁿacceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To ^oloosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to ^plet the oppressed go free
And ^qbreak every yoke?
7 “Is it not to ^rdivide your bread ^{▼▼ Lit for}with the hungry
And ^tbring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the ^unaked, to cover him;
And not to ^vhide yourself from your own flesh?
8 “Then your ^wlight will break out like the dawn,
And your ^xrecovery will speedily spring forth;
And your ^yrighteousness will go before you;
The glory of the ^zLord will be your rear guard.
9 “Then you will ^aacall, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you ^abremove the yoke from your midst,
The ^{▼▼ Lit sending out
,} ^adpointing of the finger and ^aespeaking wickedness,
10 And if you ^{▼▼ Lit furnish
,} ^aggive yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the ^{▼▼ Or soul}desire of the afflicted,
Then your ^ailight will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 “And the ^ajLord will continually guide you,
And ^aksatisfy your ^{▼▼ Or soul}desire in scorched places,
And ^amgive strength to your bones;
And you will be like a ^anwatered garden,
And like a ^aospring of water whose waters do not ^{▼▼ Or deceive}fail.
12 “Those from among you will ^aqrebuild the ancient ruins;
You will ^arraise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the ^asbreach,
The restorer of the ^{▼▼ Lit paths}streets in which to dwell.

Keeping the Sabbath

13 “If because of the sabbath, you ^auturn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a ^avdelight, the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your ^aw own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And ^axspeaking your own word,
14 Then you will take ^aydelight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride ^azon the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the ^bamouth of the Lord has spoken.”