Isaiah 58

1 “Cry aloud [with urgency and passion], do not hold back [restrain or spare]! Raise your voice [sound, utterance] like a ram’s horn [trumpet]. Declare [tell, proclaim openly] to My people [nation, community] their transgression [rebellion, sin] and to the house [family, household] of Jacob [Israel, God’s chosen] their sins [guilt, iniquity]. word study 2 For day after day [daily, every day] they seek [inquire of, ask] Me and delight [take pleasure, are pleased] to know [understand, comprehend] My ways [path, manner of life], like a nation [Gentile, large group] that does [practices, performs] what is right [just, righteous] and does not [never] forsake [abandon, loosen] the justice [judgment, righteousness] of their God [Elohim, supreme Being]. They ask [inquire, request] Me for righteous [just, virtuous] judgments [decisions, verdicts]; they delight [take pleasure, are pleased] in the nearness [approach, presence] of God [Elohim, divine Nature].” word study 3 “Why have we fasted [abstained from food, humbled ourselves], and You have not seen [noticed, regarded]? Why have we humbled [afflicted, denied] ourselves, and You have not noticed [taken knowledge, acknowledged]?” “Behold [look, see], on the day [period, time] of your fast [abstinence, self-denial], you do as you please [find your own pleasure, desire], and you oppress [exact, harass] all your workers [laborers, those in your service]. word study 4 You fast [with contention and strife, for debates] with [quarrel and debate, strife] contention and [to smite viciously, to strike] strife to strike viciously with your [clenched hand, fist] fist. You cannot fast [in this manner, as you do today] as you do today and have your [sound, voice] voice be heard on high [in heaven, the elevated place]. word study 5 Is this [such a fast as I have chosen] the fast I have chosen: a day [set apart for humility] for a man [human being, Adam] to deny [afflict, humble] himself, to bow [bend, stoop] his head like [as a reed, in humility] a reed, and to spread out [lay, place] sackcloth [coarse cloth] and ashes? Will you call [consider, regard] this a fast [time of abstinence, spiritual discipline] and a day [period of time, occasion] acceptable [pleasing, delightful] to the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]? word study 6 Isn’t this [the true, authentic] the fast [abstinence, self-denial] that I have chosen [selected, ordained]: to break [shatter, demolish] the chains [bonds, fetters] of wickedness [evil, immorality], to untie [loose, release] the cords [bands, straps] of the yoke [oppression, burden], to set [free, liberate] the oppressed [crushed, afflicted] free and tear off [remove, destroy] every yoke [burden, bondage]? word study 7 Isn’t it to share your bread [food, sustenance] with the hungry [those in need, afflicted], to bring the poor [afflicted, wandering] and homeless [without a resting place] into your home [house, dwelling place], to clothe the naked [unclothed, without covering] when you see him, and not to turn away [hide, conceal] from your own flesh [family, relatives, body] and blood? word study 8 Then your light [divine illumination, spiritual understanding] will break forth [suddenly appear, shine out] like the dawn [morning, new beginning], and your healing [restoration, wholeness] will come quickly [in haste, swiftly]. Your righteousness [justice, moral integrity] will go before you [precede, lead the way], and the glory [honor, majestic presence] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] will be your rear guard [protection, defense]. word study 9 Then [at that time, in the future] you will call [cry out, summon], and the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] will answer [respond, give an answer]; you will cry out [shout for help, pray], and He will say [declare, promise], ‘Here I am [look, behold Me].’ If [on the condition that] you remove [take away, turn aside] the yoke [oppression, burden] from your midst [center, among you], the pointing of the finger [accusation, scorn] and malicious [evil, wicked] talk [speaking vanity, idle words], word study 10 and if you give yourself [to promote, furnish, or secure] to the hungry [those in need of food, afflicted with physical or spiritual emptiness] and satisfy [to fill with enough, to have too much of something] the afflicted soul [the troubled, oppressed, or lowly one], then your light [natural and spiritual illumination, happiness] will go forth [rise, shine] in the darkness [physical and spiritual misery, wickedness], and your night [time of difficulty, trial] will be like noonday [midday, a time of full light and clarity]. word study 11 The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] will always guide [lead, direct] you; He will satisfy [fill, nourish] you in a sun-scorched [dry, barren] land and strengthen [make strong, equip] your frame [body, bones]. You will be like a well-watered [irrigated, flourishing] garden, like a spring [source, fountain] whose waters never fail [run dry, cease]. word study 12 Your people [those who belong to you, your descendants] will rebuild [restore, reconstruct] the ancient [old, long-standing] ruins [desolate places, waste areas]; you will restore [raise up, reestablish] the age-old [generations-old, long-standing] foundations [bases, starting points]; you will be called [named, known as] Repairer [restorer, rebuilder] of the Breach [break, gap], Restorer [rebuilder, reviver] of the Streets [paths, roadways] of Dwelling [living, residence]. word study 13 If you turn your foot [from traveling, from doing as you please] from breaking the Sabbath [the day of rest, the Lord’s holy day], from doing as you please [your own desires, your will] on My holy day [the day set apart for Me], if you call the Sabbath a delight [a pleasure, a joy], and the LORD’s [Yehovah] holy day [the day of sanctity] honorable [worthy of reverence, glorious], if you honor it [show respect, give dignity] by not going your own way [your own path, your desires] or seeking your own pleasure [your own delight, your will] or speaking idle words [vain talk, empty speech], word study 14 then you will delight [find great pleasure, take joy] yourself in the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God], and I will make you ride [place you, cause you to mount] on the heights [high places, elevations] of the land [earth, territory] and feed [nourish, satisfy] you with the heritage [inheritance, birthright] of your father Jacob [the patriarch, ancestor].” For the mouth [lip, utterance] of the LORD [Yehovah, the sovereign God] has spoken [declared, commanded]. word study