Study Desk

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

‘Why have we ^(g)fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not ^[a]notice?' Behold, on the ^(h)day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.

"Behold, you fast for contention and ⁽ⁱ⁾strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to ^(j)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 ^[b]one's head like a reed And for spreading out ^(k)sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an ^(l)acceptable day to the Lord ?

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

"Is it not to ^(p)divide your bread ^[c]with the hungry And ^(q)bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the ^(r)naked, to cover him; And not to ^(s)hide yourself from your own flesh?

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

"Then you will ^(x)call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.' If you ^(y)remove the yoke from your midst, The ^[d](z)pointing of the finger and ^(aa)speaking wickedness,

And if you ^[e](ab)give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the ^[f]desire of the afflicted, Then your ^(ac)light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday.

"And the ^(ad) Lord will continually guide you, And ^(ae)satisfy your ^[g]desire in scorched places, And ^(af)give strength to your bones; And you will be like a ^(ag)watered garden, And like a ^(ah)spring of water whose waters do not ^[h]fail.

"Those from among you will ^(ai)rebuild the ancient ruins; You will ^(aj)raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the ^(ak)breach, The restorer of the ^[i]streets in which to dwell.

"If because of the sabbath, you ^(al)turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a ^(am)delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your ^(an)own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And ^(ao)speaking your own word,

Then you will take ^(ap)delight in the Lord , And I will make you ride ^(aq)on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the ^(ar)mouth of the Lord has spoken."