False and True Worship

1“Shout aloud!

Don’t hold back!

Lift up your voice like a trumpet!

Declare to my people their rebellions,a

and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2Theyb seek me day after day,c

and are eager to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practices righteousness

and has not forsaken the justice of their God.

“They ask me to reveal just decisions;

they are eager to draw near to God.

3‘Why have we fasted,’ they ask,d

‘but you do not see?

‘Why have we humbled ourselves,’e they ask,f

‘but you take no notice?’”

Fasting that God Approves

“Look! On your fast day you serve your own interest

and oppress all your workers.

4“Look! You fast only for quarreling, and forg fighting,

and for hitting with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

and have your voice heard on high.

5“Is this the kind of fast that I have chosen,

merely a day for a person to humble himself?

Is it merely for bowing down one’s head like a bulrush,

for lyingh on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this what youi call a fast,

anj acceptable day to the LORD?

6Isn’t this thek fast thatl I have been choosing:

to loose the bonds of injustice,

andm to untie the cords of the yoke,

andn to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry,

and to bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked,

to cover him with clothing,o

and not to raise yourself upp from your own flesh and blood?”

God’s Reward

8“Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will spring up quickly;

and your vindication will go before you,

andq the glory of the LORD will guard your back.

9Then you’ll call,

and the LORD will answer;

you’ll cry for help,

and he’ll respond, ‘Here I am.’

“If you do away with the yoke among you,

andr pointing fingers and malicious talk;

10if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the needs of afflicted souls,

then your light will rise in darkness,

and your night will be like noonday.

11And the LORD will guide you continually,

and satisfy your soul in parched places,s

and theyt will strengthen your bones;

and you’ll be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters never fail.

12And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;

You’ll raise up the age-old foundations,u

and people will call youv ‘Repairer of Broken Walls,’

‘Restorer of Streets to Live In.’

13“If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath,

fromw pursuing your own interests on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

andx the LORD’s holy day honorable;

and if you honor it by not going your own waysy

andz seeking your own pleasure or speaking merely idleaa words,

14then you will take delight in the LORD,

and hebb will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;

and hecc will make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob, your father.

“Yes! The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”