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Isaiah 58:3-5 Justice and True Fasting

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?

Cross References for Isaiah 58:3-5

Exodus 23:12 - “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may... Click to read the verse Exodus 23:12 Click to read the verse Exodus 23:12

Deuteronomy 15:2 - This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Is... Click to read the verse Deuteronomy 15:2 Click to read the verse Deuteronomy 15:2

Exodus 2:23-24 - During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cr... Click to read the verse Exodus 2:23-24 Click to read the verse Exodus 2:23-24

Ezra 8:21 - There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our Go... Click to read the verse Ezra 8:21 Click to read the verse Ezra 8:21

Malachi 3:14 - “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements an... Click to read the verse Malachi 3:14 Click to read the verse Malachi 3:14

Isaiah 22:13 - But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat ... Click to read the verse Isaiah 22:13 Click to read the verse Isaiah 22:13

Malachi 2:14 - You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. Y... Click to read the verse Malachi 2:14 Click to read the verse Malachi 2:14

Luke 15:29 - But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeye... Click to read the verse Luke 15:29 Click to read the verse Luke 15:29

Leviticus 25:43 - Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. Click to read the verse Leviticus 25:43 Click to read the verse Leviticus 25:43

Leviticus 23:27 - “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny y... Click to read the verse Leviticus 23:27 Click to read the verse Leviticus 23:27

Colossians 4:1 - Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a... Click to read the verse Colossians 4:1 Click to read the verse Colossians 4:1

Nehemiah 5:7 - I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are exa... Click to read the verse Nehemiah 5:7 Click to read the verse Nehemiah 5:7

Jeremiah 14:12 - Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain... Click to read the verse Jeremiah 14:12 Click to read the verse Jeremiah 14:12

Luke 18:9-12 - The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector To some who were confident of their own right... Click to read the verse Luke 18:9-12 Click to read the verse Luke 18:9-12

Leviticus 16:29 - “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny... Click to read the verse Leviticus 16:29 Click to read the verse Leviticus 16:29

Isaiah 58:5 - Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for ... Click to read the verse Isaiah 58:5 Click to read the verse Isaiah 58:5

Psalms 69:10 - When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; Click to read the verse Psalms 69:10 Click to read the verse Psalms 69:10

Psalms 35:13 - Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers ret... Click to read the verse Psalms 35:13 Click to read the verse Psalms 35:13

Leviticus 16:31 - It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. Click to read the verse Leviticus 16:31 Click to read the verse Leviticus 16:31

Daniel 10:2-3 - At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. Click to read the verse Daniel 10:2-3 Click to read the verse Daniel 10:2-3

Isaiah 47:6 - I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you s... Click to read the verse Isaiah 47:6 Click to read the verse Isaiah 47:6

1 Samuel 4:3 - When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord bring defeat ... Click to read the verse 1 Samuel 4:3 Click to read the verse 1 Samuel 4:3

Numbers 23:4 - God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offe... Click to read the verse Numbers 23:4 Click to read the verse Numbers 23:4

Matthew 25:24 - “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a h... Click to read the verse Matthew 25:24 Click to read the verse Matthew 25:24

Proverbs 28:9 - If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable. Click to read the verse Proverbs 28:9 Click to read the verse Proverbs 28:9

Jonah 3:6-8 - When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, c... Click to read the verse Jonah 3:6-8 Click to read the verse Jonah 3:6-8

Micah 3:9-11 - Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise ju... Click to read the verse Micah 3:9-11 Click to read the verse Micah 3:9-11

Job 39:7 - He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver’s shout. Click to read the verse Job 39:7 Click to read the verse Job 39:7

Jeremiah 2:35 - you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you ... Click to read the verse Jeremiah 2:35 Click to read the verse Jeremiah 2:35

Matthew 18:28-35 - “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred den... Click to read the verse Matthew 18:28-35 Click to read the verse Matthew 18:28-35

Matthew 20:11-12 - When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. Click to read the verse Matthew 20:11-12 Click to read the verse Matthew 20:11-12

Zechariah 7:5-7 - “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and ... Click to read the verse Zechariah 7:5-7 Click to read the verse Zechariah 7:5-7

Jeremiah 34:9-17 - Everyone was to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Jew i... Click to read the verse Jeremiah 34:9-17 Click to read the verse Jeremiah 34:9-17

Matthew 18:28 - “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred den... Click to read the verse Matthew 18:28 Click to read the verse Matthew 18:28