Isaiah 58

1Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

1Shout out loud and don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a trumpet and tell my people their mistakes; tell the family of Jacob about their sins.

2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God.

2They act like they look for me every day and claim they want to know my ways. They act like a nation that does what is right and follows God’s laws. They ask me for fair decisions and seem to enjoy coming near to God.

3Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors.

3They ask, 'Why have we fasted if you don’t see it? Why have we humbled ourselves if you don’t notice?' The truth is, on your fast days, you only do what pleases yourselves and you mistreat all your workers.

4Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

4You fast only to argue and fight and to hit people with cruel fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard in heaven.

5Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?

5Is this the kind of fast I have chosen? Is it just a day for people to act humble, hanging their heads like drooping weeds and lying down on scratchy sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast and a day that pleases the LORD?

6Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

6This is the kind of fasting I want: free those who are wrongly imprisoned, lighten the burden of those who work for you, let the oppressed go free, and remove every chain that holds people down.

7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

7I want you to share your food with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your own house. When you see someone naked, give them clothes, and do not hide from your own relatives who need help.

8Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.

8If you do these things, your light will shine out like the morning sun, and your healing will happen quickly. Your goodness will lead the way for you, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

9Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

9Then when you call, the LORD will answer. When you cry out for help, he will say, 'I am here.' You must stop oppressing others, stop pointing fingers in blame, and stop speaking mean words.

10and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;

10If you give yourself to help the hungry and satisfy the needs of those who are suffering, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your gloom will become as bright as the noon sun.

11and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

11The LORD will guide you always. He will give you plenty to eat even in a dry desert and will make your bones strong. You will be like a well-watered garden and like a spring that never runs dry.

12And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and repair foundations that were laid long ago. You will be known as the one who repairs broken walls and the restorer of streets where people can live again.

13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

13Keep the Sabbath holy by not pursuing your own interests on that day. If you consider the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not following your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly,

14then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

14then you will find your joy in the LORD. I will let you ride in triumph over the heights of the land and feed you with the inheritance of your father Jacob. The LORD himself has spoken this.