Esias 58

1 Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up your 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 near 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 you regard not? [why] have we afflicted our souls, and you did not know it? Nay, in the days of your fasts you find your pleasures, and all them that are under your power you 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 you fast for quarrels and strifes, and strike the lowly with [your] fists, therefore do you fast to me as [you 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 you should bend down your neck as a ring, and spread under you sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall you 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, says the Lord; but do you loose every burden of iniquity, do you 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 your bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to your house: if you see one naked, clothe [him], and you shall not disregard the relations of your 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 your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall speedily spring forth: and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall compass you.

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 shall you cry, and God shall listen to you; while you are yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If you remove from you 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] you give bread to the hungry from your heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light spring up in darkness, and your 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 your God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied according as your soul desires; and your 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 your old waste desert [places] shall be built up, and your foundations shall last through all generations; and you shall be called a repairer of breaches, and you shall cause your 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 you turn away your foot from the sabbath, so as not to do your pleasure on the holy days, and shall call the sabbaths delightful, holy to God; [if] you shall not lift up your foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of your 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 shall you trust on the Lord; and he shall bring you up to the good places of the land, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your 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.