Isaiah 58:1-4 ▼

1 |Shout aloud! Don't hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their rebellions, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 They seek me day after day, 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, 'but you do not see? 'Why have we humbled ourselves,' they ask, 'but you take no notice?'| |Look! On your fast day you serve your own interest and oppress all your workers.

4 |Look! You fast only for quarreling, and for fighting, and for hitting with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice heard on high.