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Isaiah 58

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1 ἀναβόησον ἐν ἰσχύι καὶ μὴ φείσῃ ὡς σάλπιγγα ὕψωσον τὴν φωνήν σου καὶ ἀνάγγειλον τῷ λαῷ μου τὰ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῶν καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ Ιακωβ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν 2 ἐμὲ ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ζητοῦσιν καὶ γνῶναί μου τὰς ὁδοὺς ἐπιθυμοῦσιν ὡς λαὸς δικαιοσύνην πεποιηκὼς καὶ κρίσιν θεοῦ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἐγκαταλελοιπὼς αἰτοῦσίν με νῦν κρίσιν δικαίαν καὶ ἐγγίζειν θεῷ ἐπιθυμοῦσιν 3 λέγοντες τί ὅτι ἐνηστεύσαμεν καὶ οὐκ εἶδες ἐταπεινώσαμεν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἔγνως ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν νηστειῶν ὑμῶν εὑρίσκετε τὰ θελήματα ὑμῶν καὶ πάντας τοὺς ὑποχειρίους ὑμῶν ὑπονύσσετε 4 εἰ εἰς κρίσεις καὶ μάχας νηστεύετε καὶ τύπτετε πυγμαῖς ταπεινόν ἵνα τί μοι νηστεύετε ὡς σήμερον ἀκουσθῆναι ἐν κραυγῇ τὴν φωνὴν ὑμῶν 5 οὐ ταύτην τὴν νηστείαν ἐξελεξάμην καὶ ἡμέραν ταπεινοῦν ἄνθρωπον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ οὐ{D'} ἂν κάμψῃς ὡς κρίκον τὸν τράχηλόν σου καὶ σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν ὑποστρώσῃ οὐ{D'} οὕτως καλέσετε νηστείαν δεκτήν 6 οὐχὶ τοιαύτην νηστείαν ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην λέγει κύριος ἀλλὰ λῦε πάντα σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας διάλυε στραγγαλιὰς βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων ἀπόστελλε τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει καὶ πᾶσαν συγγραφὴν ἄδικον διάσπα 7 διάθρυπτε πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον σου καὶ πτωχοὺς ἀστέγους εἴσαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου ἐὰν ἴδῃς γυμνόν περίβαλε καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων τοῦ σπέρματός σου οὐχ ὑπερόψῃ 8 τότε ῥαγήσεται πρόιμον τὸ φῶς σου καὶ τὰ ἰάματά σου ταχὺ ἀνατελεῖ καὶ προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ περιστελεῖ σε 9 τότε βοήσῃ καὶ ὁ θεὸς εἰσακούσεταί σου ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῖ ἰδοὺ πάρειμι ἐὰν ἀφέλῃς ἀπὸ σοῦ σύνδεσμον καὶ χειροτονίαν καὶ ῥῆμα γογγυσμοῦ 10 καὶ δῷς πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ ψυχῆς σου καὶ ψυχὴν τεταπεινωμένην ἐμπλήσῃς τότε ἀνατελεῖ ἐν τῷ σκότει τὸ φῶς σου καὶ τὸ σκότος σου ὡς μεσημβρία 11 καὶ ἔσται ὁ θεός σου μετὰ σοῦ διὰ παντός καὶ ἐμπλησθήσῃ καθάπερ ἐπιθυμεῖ ἡ ψυχή σου καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ σου πιανθήσεται καὶ ἔσῃ ὡς κῆπος μεθύων καὶ ὡς πηγὴ ἣν μὴ ἐξέλιπεν ὕδωρ καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ σου ὡς βοτάνη ἀνατελεῖ καὶ πιανθήσεται καὶ κληρονομήσουσι γενεὰς γενεῶν 12 καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσονταί σου αἱ ἔρημοι αἰώνιοι καὶ ἔσται σου τὰ θεμέλια αἰώνια γενεῶν γενεαῖς καὶ κληθήσῃ οἰκοδόμος φραγμῶν καὶ τοὺς τρίβους τοὺς ἀνὰ μέσον παύσεις 13 ἐὰν ἀποστρέψῃς τὸν πόδα σου ἀπὸ τῶν σαββάτων τοῦ μὴ ποιεῖν τὰ θελήματά σου ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ καλέσεις τὰ σάββατα τρυφερά ἅγια τῷ θεῷ σου οὐκ ἀρεῖς τὸν πόδα σου ἐ{P'} ἔργῳ οὐδὲ λαλήσεις λόγον ἐν ὀργῇ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου 14 καὶ ἔσῃ πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ κύριον καὶ ἀναβιβάσει σε ἐπὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς καὶ ψωμιεῖ σε τὴν κληρονομίαν Ιακωβ τοῦ πατρός σου τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν ταῦτα

1 Cry aloud, never ceasing, raise thy voice like a trumpet-call, and tell my people of their transgressions, call the sons of Jacob to account. 2 Day after day they besiege me, arraign my dealings with them, a nation, you would think, ever dutiful, one that never swerved from the divine will. Proof they ask of my faithfulness, would fain bring a plea against their God.[1] 3 Why hadst thou no eyes for it, say they, when we fasted; why didst thou pass by unheeding, when we humbled ourselves before thee?

Fasting, when you follow your own whim, distrain upon all your debtors! 4 Naught comes of it but law-suit and quarrelling; angry blows profane it. A better fast you must keep than of old, ere plea of yours makes itself heard above. 5 With such fasting, with a day’s penance, should I be content? Is it enough that a man should bow down to earth, make his bed on sackcloth and ashes? Think you, by such a fasting-day, to win the Lord’s favour? 6 Nay, fast of mine is something other. The false claim learn to forgo, ease the insupportable burden, set free the over-driven; away with every yoke that galls! 7 Share thy bread with the hungry, give the poor and the vagrant a welcome to thy house; meet thou the naked, clothe him; from thy own flesh and blood turn not away. 8 Then, sudden as the dawn, the welcome light shall break on thee, in a moment thy health shall find a new spring; divine favour shall lead thee on thy journey, brightness of the Lord’s presence close thy ranks behind. 9 Then the Lord will listen to thee when thou callest on him; cry out, and he will answer, I am here at thy side.

Banish from thy midst oppression, and the finger pointed scornfully, and the plotting of harm, 10 spend thyself giving food to the hungry, relieving the afflicted; then shall light spring up for thee in the darkness, and thy dusk shall be noonday; 11 the Lord will give thee rest[2] continually, fill thy soul with comfort, thy body with ease.[3] Not more secure the well-watered garden, the spring whose waters never fail. 12 Rebuilt, in thy land, the immemorial ruins; restored, the foundations of long ago; this thy task shall be, to repair the broken walls, to reclaim the by-ways. 13 Walk warily, keep my sabbath unprofaned. Here is a day I have sanctified, not for thy self-pleasing; a precious thing the Lord has made holy and honourable; and wilt thou dishonour it? Wilt thou go thy own way, use it for thy own pleasure, while it away in gossip? 14 Thou shalt yet have joy in the Lord; I will carry thee aloft, high above the high places of the land, satisfy thy longing for Jacob’s patrimony; the Lord’s lips have promised it.

1

Clama, ne cesses,
quasi tuba exalta vocem tuam,
et annuntia populo meo scelera eorum,
et domui Jacob peccata eorum. 2
Me etenim de die in diem quærunt,
et scire vias meas volunt,
quasi gens quæ justitiam fecerit,
et judicium Dei sui non dereliquerit.
Rogant me judicia justitiæ;
appropinquare Deo volunt. 3
Quare jejunavimus, et non aspexisti;
humiliavimus animas nostras, et nescisti?
Ecce in die jejunii vestri invenitur voluntas vestra,
et omnes debitores vestros repetitis. 4
Ecce ad lites et contentiones jejunatis,
et percutitis pugno impie.
Nolite jejunare sicut usque ad hanc diem,
ut audiatur in excelso clamor vester. 5
Numquid tale est jejunium quod elegi,
per diem affligere hominem animam suam?
numquid contorquere quasi circulum caput suum,
et saccum et cinerem sternere?
numquid istud vocabis jejunium,
et diem acceptabilem Domino? 6

Nonne hoc est magis jejunium quod elegi?
Dissolve colligationes impietatis,
solve fasciculos deprimentes,
dimitte eos qui confracti sunt liberos,
et omne onus dirumpe; 7
frange esurienti panem tuum,
et egenos vagosque induc in domum tuam;
cum videris nudum, operi eum,
et carnem tuam ne despexeris. 8
Tunc erumpet quasi mane lumen tuum;
et sanitas tua citius orietur,
et anteibit faciem tuam justitia tua,
et gloria Domini colliget te. 9
Tunc invocabis, et Dominus exaudiet;
clamabis, et dicet: Ecce adsum.
Si abstuleris de medio tui catenam,
et desieris extendere digitum et loqui quod non prodest; 10
cum effuderis esurienti animam tuam,
et animam afflictam repleveris,
orietur in tenebris lux tua,
et tenebræ tuæ erunt sicut meridies. 11
Et requiem tibi dabit Dominus semper,
et implebit splendoribus animam tuam,
et ossa tua liberabit;
et eris quasi hortus irriguus,
et sicut fons aquarum
cujus non deficient aquæ. 12
Et ædificabuntur in te deserta sæculorum,
fundamenta generationis et generationis suscitabis;
et vocaberis ædificator sepium,
avertens semitas in quietem. 13
Si averteris a sabbato pedem tuum
facere voluntatem tuam in die sancto meo,
et vocaveris sabbatum delicatum,
et sanctum Domini gloriosum,
et glorificaveris eum dum non facis vias tuas,
et non invenitur voluntas tua, ut loquaris sermonem: 14
tunc delectaberis super Domino,
et sustollam te super altitudines terræ,
et cibabo te hæreditate Jacob patris tui:
os enim Domini locutum est.

[1] ‘Bring a plea against’, literally, ‘approach’, but the context shows that the verb is used in a legal sense, as in 57.3 above and elsewhere.

[2] The sense of the Hebrew text is, ‘guide thee’.

[3] Literally, ‘he will fill thy soul with brightness and deliver thy bones’. But the Hebrew text means rather, ‘he will satisfy thy desire in time of drought, and refresh thy bones’, though the authority for this last verb is uncertain.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd