Isaiah 58:5

New International Reader's Version

Do you think that is the way I want you to fast? Is it only a time for people to make themselves suffer? Is it only for people to bow their heads like tall grass bent by the wind? Is it only for people to lie down in ashes and clothes of mourning? Is that what you call a fast? Do you think I can accept that?

Cross References

2 Kings 6:30

When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his royal robes. As he walked along the wall, the people looked up at him. They saw that under his robes he was wearing the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad.

2 Chronicles 20:3

Jehoshaphat was alarmed. So he decided to ask the Lord for advice. He told all the people of Judah to go without eating.

Ezra 10:6

Then Ezra left the house of God. He went to Jehohanan’s room. Jehohanan was the son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he didn’t eat any food. He didn’t drink any water. That’s because he was filled with sadness. He mourned because the people weren’t faithful to the Lord’s commands. Those people were the ones who had returned from the land of Babylon.

Ezra 8:21

By the canal that flows toward Ahava, I announced a fast. I told the people not to eat any food. In that way, we made ourselves humble in God’s sight. We prayed that he would give us and our children a safe journey. We asked him to keep safe everything we owned.

Esther 4:16

“Go. Gather together all the Jews who are in Susa. And fast for my benefit. Don’t eat or drink anything for three days. Don’t do it night or day. I and my attendants will fast just as you do. Then I’ll go to the king. I’ll do it even though it’s against the law. And if I have to die, I’ll die.”

Esther 4:3

All the Jews were very sad. They didn’t eat anything. They wept and cried. Many of them put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They were lying down in ashes. They did all these things in every territory where the king’s order and law had been sent.

Job 2:8

He got part of a broken pot. He used it to scrape his skin. He did it while he was sitting in ashes.

Psalm 69:13

But Lord, I pray to you. May this be the time you help me. God, answer me because you love me so much. Save me, as you always do.

Isaiah 49:8

The Lord says to his servant, “When it is time to have mercy on you, I will answer your prayers. When it is time to save you, I will help you. I will keep you safe. You will put into effect my covenant with the people of Israel. Then their land will be made like new again. Each tribe will be sent back to its territory that was left empty.

Isaiah 58:3

‘We have gone without food,’ they say. ‘Why haven’t you noticed it? We have made ourselves suffer. Why haven’t you paid any attention to us?’ “On the day when you fast, you do as you please. You take advantage of all your workers.

Isaiah 61:2

He has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free. He wants me to announce the day when he will pay his enemies back. Our God has sent me to comfort all those who are sad.

Leviticus 16:29

“Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come. On the tenth day of the seventh month you must not eat anything. You must not do any work. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders.

Leviticus 16:31

That day is a sabbath for you. You must rest on it. You must not eat anything on that day. This is a law that will last for all time to come.

Zechariah 7:5

“Ask the priests and all the people in the land a question for me. Say to them, ‘You mourned and fasted in the fifth and seventh months. You did it for the past 70 years. But did you really do it for me?

Matthew 6:16

“When you go without eating, do not look gloomy like those who only pretend to be holy. They make their faces look very sad. They want to show people they are fasting. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.

Luke 4:19

And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.” (Isaiah 61:1,2)

Romans 12:2

Don’t live the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be completely changed. Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and perfect.

1 Peter 2:5

You also are like living stones. As you come to Christ, you are being built into a house for worship. There you will be holy priests. You will offer spiritual sacrifices. God will accept them because of what Jesus Christ has done.