Isaiah 58:5

Thinke ye this fast pleaseth me, that a man shoulde chasten hym selfe for a day? and to hang downe his head like a bulrushe, and to lye vpon the earth in an heerie cloth? Should that be called fasting, or a day that pleaseth the Lord?

Bible (Bishops')

In The King James Version

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?

In Context

4Beholde, when ye fast, your lust remayneth still, for ye do no lesse violence to your detters: lo, ye fast to strife and debate, and to smite with your fist without mercy: Nowe ye shall not fast thus, that your voyce might be hearde aboue.

6Doth not this fasting rather please me, That thou lose the wicked bands, that thou take of the ouer heauie burthens, that thou let the oppressed go free, and breake all maner of yoke?

Read all of Isaiah 58

Cross References

Isaiah 58:3Wherefore fast we [say they] and thou seest it not? we put our liues to straitnesse, and thou regardest it not?

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 58:4-8

A Charge against the People. ( b. c. 706.) 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… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Isaiah 58:5