Isaiah 58:3 ““Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled oursel…”

Isaiah 58:3

“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

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.

World English Bible

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and oppress all your laborers.

American Standard Version

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.

Geneva Bible 1599

Wherefore haue we fasted, and thou seest it not? we haue punished our selues, and thou regardest it not. Beholde, in the day of your fast you will seeke your will, and require all your dettes.

Darby Translation

— Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth [you], and exact all your labours.

Young's Literal Translation

'Why have we fasted, and Thou hast not seen? We have afflicted our soul, and Thou knowest not.' Lo, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, And all your labours ye exact.

Bible in Basic English

They say, Why have we kept ourselves from food, and you do not see it? why have we kept ourselves from pleasure, and you take no note of it? If, in the days when you keep from food, you take the chance to do your business, and get in your debts;

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Cross references

“have we fasted”

Luke 18:9–12 Malachi 3:14 Numbers 23:4 Micah 3:9–11 Zechariah 7:5–7 Luke 15:29

Luke 18:9–12 · BSB

To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

Malachi 3:14 · BSB

You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

Numbers 23:4 · BSB

and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

Micah 3:9–11 · BSB

Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right,

Zechariah 7:5–7 · BSB

“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?

Luke 15:29 · BSB

But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

“afflicted”

Leviticus 16:29 Leviticus 16:31 Leviticus 23:27 Psalm 69:10

Leviticus 16:29 · BSB

This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—

Leviticus 16:31 · BSB

It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

Leviticus 23:27 · BSB

“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD.

Psalm 69:10 · BSB

I wept and fasted, but it brought me reproach.

“in”

Jonah 3:6–8 Daniel 10:2 Daniel 10:3

Jonah 3:6–8 · BSB

When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Daniel 10:2 · BSB

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.

Daniel 10:3 · BSB

I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.

“exact”

Proverbs 28:9 Nehemiah 5:7 Jeremiah 34:9–17 Matthew 18:28–35

Proverbs 28:9 · BSB

Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.

Nehemiah 5:7 · BSB

and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!” So I called a large assembly against them

Jeremiah 34:9–17 · BSB

that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.

Matthew 18:28–35 · BSB

But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

“labours”

Isaiah 47:6 Exodus 2:23 Exodus 2:24

Isaiah 47:6 · BSB

I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.

Exodus 2:23 · BSB

After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.

Exodus 2:24 · BSB

So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Also

Isaiah 22:13

Isaiah 22:13 · BSB

But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

2For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.”

4You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.

Read Isaiah 58