Study Desk

"There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You do not see it? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?' Hear this [O Israel], on the day of your fast [when you should be grieving for your sins] you find something you desire [to do], And you force your hired servants to work [instead of stopping all work, as the law teaches].

"The facts are that you fast only for strife and brawling and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You do not fast as you do today to make your voice heard on high.

"Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]? Is it only to bow down his head like a reed And to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]? Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the LORD?

"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression], The finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech,

Then you will take pleasure in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the high places of the earth, And I will feed you with the [promised] heritage of Jacob your father; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing]; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue mutters wickedness.

No one sues righteously [but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage], and no one pleads [his case] in truth; [but rather] They trust in empty arguments and speak lies; They conceive trouble and bring forth injustice.

Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us. We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness; We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.

We grope for a wall like the blind, We grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; Among those who are healthy we are like dead men.

We all groan and growl like bears, And coo sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us.

For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O LORD], And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]:

Justice is pushed back, And righteous behavior stands far away; For truth has fallen in the city square, And integrity cannot enter.

For He [the LORD] put on righteousness like a coat of armor, And salvation like a helmet on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak.

So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun. For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream Which the breath of the LORD drives [overwhelming the enemy].

"As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you [writing the law of God on the heart], and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your [true, spiritual] children, nor from the mouth of your children's children," says the LORD, "from now and forever."

"Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the LORD]; for your light has come, And the glory and brilliance of the LORD has risen upon you.

"For in fact, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness will cover the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you [Jerusalem] And His glory and brilliance will be seen on you.

"The islands and coastlands will confidently wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from far away, Their silver and gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, For the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.

"Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will serve you; For in My [righteous] wrath I struck you, But in My favor and grace I have had compassion on you.