Esias 58

1 Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice as with a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities.

Cry aloud, spare not, Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, And show my people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins!

2 They seek me day by day, and desire to know my ways, as a people that had done righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of their God: they now ask of me righteous judgment, and desire to draw nigh to God,

Yet they seek me daily, And desire to know my ways, As a nation that hath done righteousness, And hath not forsaken the ordinances of their God; They inquire of me concerning the judgments which bring salvation; They long for the coming of God.

3 saying, Why have we fasted, and thou regardest not? [why] have we afflicted our souls, and thou didst not know it? Nay, in the days of your fasts ye find your pleasures, and all them that are under your power ye wound.

“Wherefore do we fast, and thou seest not? Wherefore do we afflict our souls, and thou dost not regard it?” Behold, in the day of your fasts ye pursue your pleasure, And exact all your labors.

4 If ye fast for quarrels and strifes, and smite the lowly with [your] fists, wherefore do ye fast to me as [ye do] this day, so that your voice may be heard in crying?

Behold, ye fast in strife and contention, And smiting with the fist of wickedness. Ye do not fast now So that your voice shall be heard on high.

5 I have not chosen this fast, nor [such] a day for a man to afflict his soul; neither though thou shouldest bend down thy neck as a ring, and spread under thee sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall ye call a fast acceptable.

Is this the fast that I approve, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, And lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt thou call this a fast, And a day acceptable to Jehovah?

6 I have not chosen such a fast, saith the Lord; but do thou loose every burden of iniquity, do thou untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account.

Is not this the fast that I approve, —To loose the bands of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And to break in pieces every yoke?

7 Break thy bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to thy house: if thou seest one naked, clothe [him], and thou shalt not disregard the relations of thine own seed.

Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry, And to bring the poor, that are cast out, to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him, And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily spring forth: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall compass thee.

Then shall thy light break forth like the morning, And thy health shall spring forth speedily; Thy salvation shall go before thee, And the glory of Jehovah shall bring up thy rear.

9 Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hearken to thee; while thou art yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If thou remove from thee the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech;

Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Lo, here I am! If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke, The pointing of the finger, and the injurious speech.

10 and [if] thou give bread to the hungry from thy heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light spring up in darkness, and thy darkness [shall be] as noon-day:

If thou bring forth thy bread to the hungry, And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then in obscurity shall light arise to thee; Yea, thy darkness shall become as noonday;

11 and thy God shall be with thee continually, and thou shalt be satisfied according as thy soul desires; and thy bones shall be made fat, and shall be as a well-watered garden, and as a fountain [from] which the water has not failed.

Jehovah shall lead thee continually, And satisfy thee in the time of drought, And strengthen thy bones; Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and a spring of water, Whose waters never fail.

12 And thy old waste desert [places] shall be built up, and thy foundations shall last through all generations; and thou shalt be called a repairer of breaches, and thou shalt cause thy paths between to be in peace.

Thy people shall build the ancient desolations, The ruins of many generations shall they restore; Thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of ways for inhabitants.

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, so as not to do thy pleasure on the holy days, and shalt call the sabbaths delightful, holy to God; [if] thou shalt not lift up thy foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of thy mouth,

If thou restrain thy foot from the sabbath, From doing thy pleasure on my holy day, If thou shalt call the sabbath a delight, The holy day of Jehovah honorable, And shalt honor it by refraining from thy work, From doing thy pleasure, and speaking vain words,

14 then shalt thou trust on the Lord; and he shall bring thee up to the good places of the land, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.

Then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah. And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, And cause thee to enjoy the inheritance of Jacob, thy father; For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.