Isaiah 57 - 58

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Evil Leaders Rebuked

The righteous man perishes, and no man puts it upon his heart;

And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands.

For the righteous man is gathered away from evil,

He enters into peace;

They rest in their beds,

Each one who walked in his upright way.

“But draw near, you sons of a soothsayer,

Seed of an adulterer and a prostitute.

Against whom do you jest?

Against whom do you open wide your mouth

And stick out your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

Seed of lying,

Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,

Under every green tree,

Who slaughter the children in the ravines,

Under the clefts of the cliffs?

Among the smooth stones of the ravine

Is your portion, they are your lot;

Even to them you have poured out a drink offering;

You have made a grain offering.

Shall I relent concerning these things?

Upon a mountain lofty and lifted up

You have made your bed.

You also went up there to offer sacrifice.

Behind the door and the doorpost

You have set up your memorial;

Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,

And have gone up and made your bed wide,

And you have cut a covenant for yourself with them;

You have loved their bed;

You have looked on their manhood.

You have journeyed to the king with oil

And increased your perfumes;

You have sent your envoys a great distance

And made them go down to Sheol.

You were tired out by the length of your road,

Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless.’

You found renewed strength;

Therefore you did not faint.

“Of whom were you anxious and fearful

When you lied and did not remember Me,

Nor even put Me upon your heart?

Was I not silent even for a long time

So you do not fear Me?

I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,

But they will not profit you.

When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you.

But the wind will lift all of them up,

And a breath will take them away.

But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land

And will possess My holy mountain.”

Yahweh Revives the Spirit of the Lowly

And it will be said,

“Build up, build up, prepare the way,

Remove every stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

For thus says the One high and lifted up

Who dwells forever, whose name is Holy,

“I dwell on a high and holy place,

And also with the crushed and lowly of spirit

In order to revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the crushed.

For I will not contend forever,

Nor will I always be angry;

For the spirit would grow faint before Me,

And the breath of those whom I have made.

Because of the iniquity of his greedy gain I was angry and struck him;

I hid My face and was angry,

And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and pay him and his mourners in full with comfort,

Creating the praise of the lips.

Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”

Says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.”

But the wicked are like the tossing sea,

For it cannot be quiet,

And its waters toss up refuse and mud.

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Fasting as Yahweh Chooses

“Call out from your throat, 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 find pleasure in knowing My ways,

As a nation that has done righteousness

And has not forsaken the judgment of their God.

They ask Me for righteous judgments;

They find pleasure in the nearness of God.

‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?

Why have we afflicted our souls and You do not know?’

Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,

And oppress all your workers.

Behold, you fast for contention and quarreling 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 afflict 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 Yahweh?

Is this not the fast which I choose,

To loosen the bonds of wickedness,

To release 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 afflicted homeless into the house;

When you see the naked, you 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 Yahweh will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and Yahweh 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 offer your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the soul of the afflicted,

Then your light will rise in darkness

And your thick darkness will become like midday.

And Yahweh will continually guide you,

And satisfy your soul in scorched places,

And fortify your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

Those from among you will rebuild the ancient waste places;

You will raise up the foundations of past generation upon generation;

And you will be called the repairer of the breach,

The restorer of the paths for one to inhabit.

Keeping the Sabbath

“If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot

From doing your own desire on My holy day,

And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of Yahweh honorable,

And honor it, by not doing your own ways,

By not finding your own desire

And speaking your own word,

Then you will take delight in Yahweh,

And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;

And I will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father,

For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”

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