The Book of Isaiah

"Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins.

"Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me [for] just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.

'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? [Why] have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find [your] desire, And drive hard all your workers.

"Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like [you do] today to make your voice heard on high.

"Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?

"Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?

"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

"Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

"Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom [will become] like midday.

"And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

"And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your [own] pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy [day] of the Lord honorable, And shall honor it, desisting from your [own] ways, From seeking your [own] pleasure, And speaking [your own] word,

Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you [with] the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."