True and False Fasting
1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
clift up your voice like a trumpet;
ddeclare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 eYet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 f‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,1
gand oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 hIs such the fast that I choose,
ia day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
jto loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps kof the yoke,
to let the oppressed2 go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not lto share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
mand not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 nThen shall your light break forth like the dawn,
oand your healing shall spring up speedily;
pyour righteousness shall go before you;
qthe glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away rthe yoke from your midst,
sthe pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 tif you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
nthen shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be ulike a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 vAnd your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
8 The Lord is jmerciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 kHe will not always chide,
nor will he lkeep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us maccording to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For nas high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his osteadfast love toward pthose who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he qremove our transgressions from us.
13 As ra father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion pto those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;1
he sremembers that we are dust.
Giving to the Needy
1 “Beware of rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have vreceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Lord’s Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Fasting
16 “And twhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. uTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, vanoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ymoth and rust1 destroy and where thieves zbreak in and steal, 20 xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
