True Fasting
1 “Cry out loudly, Z don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
and delight to know my ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.” w
3 “Why have we fasted, but you have not seen? x
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed! ” A
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers. y
4 You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? z
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness, a
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke? b
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, c
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him, d
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood? B,e
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly. f
Your righteousness will go before you, g
and the LORD’S glory will be your rear guard. h
9 At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer; i
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, j
10 and if you offer yourself C to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness, k
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The LORD will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden l
and like a spring whose water never runs dry. m
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; n
you will restore the foundations laid long ago; o
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating D the Sabbath, p
from doing whatever you want on my holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways, q
seeking your own pleasure, or talking business; E,F
14 then you will delight in the LORD, r
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, s
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. t