Isaiah 58:5

Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ¹  Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ²  bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out ³  on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

Le 16:29; 1Ki 21:27-29; 2Ki 6:30; 2Ch 20:3; Ezr 10:6; Ne 9:1,2; Es 4:3,16; Job 2:8; Ps 69:13; Isa 49:8; Isa 58:3; Isa 61:2; Da 9:3-19; Jon 3:5-8; Zec 7:5; Lu 4:19; Ro 12:2; 1Pe 2:5

¹ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

² tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Or “making [their] bed.”