Isaiah 58: The Fast God Chooses — ReidOne Bible Study

Isaiah 58 (WEB)

1 “Cry aloud, don’t spare, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact all your labors.

4 Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness: you don’t fast this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Yahweh?

6 “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

7 Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then your light shall break out as the morning, and your healing shall spring out speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; Yahweh’s glory shall be your rear guard.

9 Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away from your midst the yoke, the putting out of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

10 and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then your light shall rise in darkness, and your obscurity be as the noonday;

11 and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don’t fail.

12 Those who shall be of you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words:

14 then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father:” for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.

Isaiah 58 (KJV)

1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.

9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaiah 58 (ASV)

1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God.

3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors.

4 Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.

9 Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

10 and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;

11 and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Summary

God commands the prophet to cry aloud like a trumpet and confront his people with their sins. The irony is sharp: they seek God daily and delight to know his ways, asking why their fasting goes unnoticed. God answers that on their fast days they pursue their own pleasure, oppress their workers, and fast only to quarrel and strike with wicked fists. Such fasting will never make their voice heard on high. Then God describes the fast he actually chooses: to release the bonds of wickedness, undo the yoke, let the oppressed go free, share bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into the house, clothe the naked, and not hide from one's own flesh and blood. To those who live this way come extraordinary promises—their light will break out like the morning, their healing will spring up quickly, the glory of the Lord will be their rear guard, and when they call, the Lord will answer, “Here I am.” If they pour themselves out for the hungry and afflicted, their light will rise in the darkness, the Lord will guide them continually, and they will be like a watered garden whose waters never fail. They will be called repairers of the breach and restorers of streets to dwell in. The chapter closes by calling them to honor the Sabbath as a delight, promising that those who do will find their delight in the Lord himself.

Voices

Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who exposes hollow religion, calls for justice and mercy as true worship, and promises light, guidance, and answered prayer to those who obey.
The people — Worshipers who fast and seek God outwardly while oppressing others, and who are called to a fast that loosens chains and feeds the hungry.
The oppressed and hungry — The bound, the poor, the homeless, and the naked whom God commands his people to free, feed, shelter, and clothe.

Key Verse

Isaiah 58:6 (WEB)

“Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

Lessons Learned

Religious devotion divorced from justice and mercy is empty in God's eyes.
The fast God desires expresses itself in freeing the oppressed and caring for the needy.
Pouring ourselves out for others brings light, healing, and the Lord's continual guidance.
God invites us to honor him not as a burden but as a delight.

Outward devotion can mask inward injustice. They “seek me daily” yet on their fast day “exact all your labors” and quarrel (Isaiah 58:2-4, WEB).
True fasting frees the oppressed. The chosen fast is “to release the bonds of wickedness… and to let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58:6, WEB).
Mercy to others brings light and healing. “Then your light shall break out as the morning, and your healing shall spring out speedily” (Isaiah 58:8, WEB).
The Sabbath is meant to be a delight. Call “the Sabbath a delight” and you “shall delight yourself in Yahweh” (Isaiah 58:13-14, WEB).

What is wrong with the fasting described in verses 3-5?
How does God define the fast he truly chooses (verses 6-7)?
What promises follow for those who care for the oppressed and hungry (verses 8-12)?
How does the chapter reframe the Sabbath in verses 13-14?
Where is God inviting you to move from religious routine to active mercy toward someone in need?

Their fasting is self-serving and even harmful: they pursue their own pleasure, oppress their workers, and use the fast as occasion for strife (58:3-4). God shows that ritual without justice is worthless to him, no matter how sincere it feels.
God's chosen fast is practical mercy: loosing chains, freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and clothing the naked (58:6-7). Worship that pleases God overflows into compassion for our neighbor and even our own family.
Those who live this way are promised light breaking like the morning, swift healing, the Lord's protection, answered prayer, continual guidance, and the life of a watered garden (58:8-12). Mercy to others opens the door to God's abundant presence and provision.
Rather than a grim obligation, the Sabbath is to be honored as “a delight” and the Lord's holy day (58:13). Those who treat it so will find their joy not in their own pursuits but in God himself—rest reframed as gift, not burden.
This is a personal-application question. Invite members to identify one concrete act of mercy—freeing, feeding, sheltering, clothing—they could take this week. As leader, connect their worship of God directly to their care for the vulnerable.