Isaiah 58:9-14

True and False Fasting

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away r the yoke from your midst,
s the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
 10 t if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
n then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
 11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be u like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
 12 v And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13 w "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure 1 on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking x your own pleasure, 2 or talking idly; 3
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
y and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; 4
z I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
a for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:6
    Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
  2. Cross References
    Proverbs 6:13
    Winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:7 - 8
    Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:8
    Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:12
    They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 61:4
    They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
    Isaiah 65:21
    They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
    Ezra 6:14
    And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
    Nehemiah 4:6
    So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 56:2
    Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
    Nehemiah 13:15 - 21
    In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:3
    Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.
  9. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:13
    He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:19
    I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:20
    But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.