Yesaya 58:5-6

58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ¹ 

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ² 

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out ³  on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this really what you call a fast,

a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ⁴ 

I want you ⁵  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ⁶ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

Yesaya 58:11

58:11 The Lord will continually lead you;

he will feed you even in parched regions. ⁷ 

He will give you renewed strength, ⁸ 

and you will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring that continually produces water.

[58:5]  ¹ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

[58:5]  ² tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:5]  ³ tn Or “making [their] bed.”

[58:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ⁵ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “crushed.”

[58:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.”

[58:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.”