Cry {Hebrew: with the throat.}aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God.
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 {Or, oppress all your laborers}exact all your labors.
Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: {Or, ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make &c.}ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.
Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.
If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;
and if thou {Or, bestow on the hungry that which thy soul desireth}draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;
and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in {Or, drought}dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor {Or, him}it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 58,2 Jes 58,2
What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
When ye come {Or, as otherwisw read, to see my face}to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts?
Bring no more {Hebrew: an oblation of vanity.}vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, — {Or, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even me solemn meeting}I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a {Or, cumbrance}trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we pray thee, our supplication {Hebrew: fall.}be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, even for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us),
And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been {Or, learned by rote}taught them;
For ye have dealt deceitfully {Or, in your souls}against your own souls; for ye sent me unto Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us unto Jehovah our God; and according unto all that Jehovah our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.
Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?
(for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; Jehovah of hosts is his name):
Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of {Or, malice}wickedness, receive with meekness the {Or, inborn}implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and Jehovah said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
{Or, Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me, and keep all my commandments, that &c.}Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Putting away therefore all {Or, malice 1 Corinthians 14:20.}wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.
as newborn babes, long for the {Greek: belonging to the reason. Compare Romans 12:1.}spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation;
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah;But the prayer of the upright is his delight.
And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from Jehovah.
And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.
And, lo, thou art unto them as {Or, a love-song}a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
And when this cometh to pass, (behold, it cometh,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
{Isaiah 29:13.}This people honoreth me with their lips;But their heart is far from me.
But in vain do they worship me,Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;
and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble.
for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly.
He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.
They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
For as touching those who were once enlightened {Or, having both tasted of…and being made…and having tasted &c.}and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and {Or, tasted the word of God that it is good}tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; {Or, the while}seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.