Isaiah 58:3

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

They lament,‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Mal 3:14 : 14 You have said,‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD of Heaven’s Armies?
  • Lev 16:29 : 29 Review of the Day of Atonement“This is to be a perpetual statute for you. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves and do no work of any kind, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner who lives in your midst,
  • Neh 5:7 : 7 I considered these things carefully and then registered a complaint with the wealthy and the officials. I said to them,“Each one of you is seizing the collateral from your own countrymen!” Because of them I called for a great public assembly.
  • Zech 7:5-7 : 5 “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows:‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me– for me, indeed? 6 And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves?’” 7 Should you not have obeyed the words that the LORD cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the foothills were also populated?
  • Luke 18:9-9 : 9 The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this:‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers– or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
  • Exod 2:23-24 : 23 The Call of the Deliverer During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,
  • Ps 69:10 : 10 I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me.
  • Prov 28:9 : 9 The one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
  • Isa 22:13 : 13 But look, there is outright celebration! You say,“Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep, eat meat and drink wine. Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
  • Isa 47:6 : 6 I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.
  • Jer 34:9-9 : 9 Everyone was supposed to free their male and female Hebrew slaves. No one was supposed to keep a fellow Judean enslaved. 10 All the people and their leaders had agreed to this. They had agreed to free their male and female slaves and not keep them enslaved any longer. They originally complied with the covenant and freed them. 11 But later they had changed their minds. They had taken back their male and female slaves that they had freed and forced them to be slaves again. 12 The LORD’s message came to Jeremiah, 13 “The LORD God of Israel has a message for you.‘I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. It stipulated, 14 “Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me. 15 Recently, however, you yourselves showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own. 16 But then you turned right around and showed that you did not honor me. Each of you took back your male and female slaves whom you had freed as they desired, and you forced them to be your slaves again. 17 So I, the LORD, say:“You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the LORD, affirm it! I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you.
  • Dan 10:2-3 : 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine came to my lips, nor did I anoint myself with oil until the end of those three weeks.
  • Jonah 3:6-8 : 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and said,“In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water. 8 Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestly to God, and everyone must turn from their evil way of living and from the violence that they do.
  • Mic 3:9-9 : 9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You hate justice and pervert all that is right. 10 You build Zion through bloody crimes, Jerusalem through unjust violence. 11 Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the LORD and say,“The LORD is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!”
  • Lev 16:31 : 31 It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves. It is a perpetual statute.
  • Lev 23:27 : 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the LORD.
  • Num 23:4 : 4 Then God met Balaam, who said to him,“I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
  • Matt 18:28-35 : 28 After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying,‘Pay back what you owe me!’ 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him,‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. 32 Then his lord called the first slave and said to him,‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! 33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ 34 And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”
  • Matt 20:11-12 : 11 When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, 12 saying,‘These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’
  • Luke 15:29 : 29 but he answered his father,‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends!

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Isa 58:4-7
    4 verses
    86%

    4Look, your fasting is accompanied by arguments, brawls, and fistfights. Do not fast as you do today, trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

    5Is this really the kind of fasting I want? Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the LORD?

    6No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke.

    7I want you to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!

  • Isa 58:1-2
    2 verses
    77%

    1The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion“Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet! Yell as loud as a trumpet! Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; confront Jacob’s family with their sin!

    2They seek me day after day; they want to know my requirements, like a nation that does what is right and does not reject the law of their God. They ask me for just decrees; they want to be near God.

  • Zech 7:5-6
    2 verses
    76%

    5“Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows:‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me– for me, indeed?

    6And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves?’”

  • Matt 6:16-18
    3 verses
    75%

    16Proper Fasting“When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!

    17When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

    18so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

  • Mal 3:13-14
    2 verses
    73%

    13Resistance to the Lord through Self-sufficiency“You have criticized me sharply,” says the LORD,“but you ask,‘How have we criticized you?’

    14You have said,‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD of Heaven’s Armies?

  • Matt 9:14
    73%

    14The Superiority of the New Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked,“Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

  • Mal 2:17
    72%

    17Resistance to the Lord through Self-deceit You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say,“How have we wearied him?” Because you say,“Everyone who does evil is good in the LORD’s opinion, and he delights in them,” or“Where is the God of justice?”

  • Isa 58:13
    72%

    13You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat the LORD’s holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.

  • Jer 14:12
    72%

    12Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.”

  • Mark 2:18
    72%

    18The Superiority of the New Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said,“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”

  • Joel 1:13-14
    2 verses
    71%

    13Get dressed and lament, you priests! Wail, you who minister at the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God, because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of your God anymore.

    14Announce a holy fast; proclaim a sacred assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the temple of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

  • Isa 55:2
    71%

    2Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!

  • Luke 5:33
    71%

    33The Superiority of the New Then they said to him,“John’s disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink.”

  • Neh 13:18
    71%

    18Isn’t this the way your ancestors acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!”

  • Isa 58:9-10
    2 verses
    71%

    9Then you will call out, and the LORD will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply,‘Here I am.’ You must remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

    10You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.

  • Hos 9:5
    70%

    5So what will you do on the festival day, on the festival days of the LORD?

  • Jer 14:19
    70%

    19Then I said,“LORD, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.

  • Mal 1:13
    70%

    13You also say,‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,“and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” asks the LORD.

  • Isa 1:12
    70%

    12When you enter my presence, do you actually think I want this– animals trampling on my courtyards?

  • Isa 3:9
    70%

    9The look on their faces testifies to their guilt; like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. Woe to them! For they bring disaster on themselves.

  • Joel 2:12
    70%

    12An Appeal for Repentance“Yet even now,” the LORD says,“return to me with all your heart– with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

  • Joel 1:16
    70%

    16Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God!

  • Jer 16:10
    69%

    10The Lord Promises Exile(But Also Restoration)“When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you,‘Why has the LORD threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the LORD our God?’

  • Ps 69:10
    69%

    10I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me.

  • Isa 5:19
    69%

    19They say,“Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!”

  • Hag 1:6
    69%

    6You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’”

  • Mal 2:13
    69%

    13You also do this: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

  • Ps 44:24
    69%

    24Why do you look the other way, and ignore the way we are oppressed and mistreated?

  • Zech 8:19
    69%

    19“The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says,‘The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become joyful and happy, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah, so love truth and peace.’

  • Ps 53:4
    69%

    4All those who behave wickedly do not understand– those who devour my people as if they were eating bread, and do not call out to God.

  • Ezek 34:4
    69%

    4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them.

  • Mal 1:8
    69%

    8For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them to your governor! Will he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

  • Dan 9:14
    69%

    14The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just in all he has done, and we have not obeyed him.

  • Isa 1:15
    69%

    15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood.

  • Dan 9:3
    69%

    3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

  • Jer 7:17
    69%

    17Do you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

  • Isa 64:7
    69%

    7No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you. For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins.

  • Isa 5:13
    68%

    13Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.

  • Job 22:7
    68%

    7You gave the weary no water to drink and from the hungry you withheld food.

  • Mic 3:4
    68%

    4Someday these sinful leaders will cry to the LORD for help, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds.”