“Is not this the fast that I choose?
You must loose the bonds of injustice!
You must undo the thongs of the yoke!
Let the oppressed go free!
Break every yoke!
Is it not to share your bread
With the hungry?
Is it not to bring the homeless poor
Into your house?
When you see the naked,
Cover them!
Do not hide yourself
From your own relatives!
Then your light shall break forth
Like the dawn.
Your healing shall spring up quickly.
Your vindicator shall go before you.
The glory of Yahweh
Shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call.
Now Yahweh will answer.
You shall cry for help.
He will say.
‘Here I am.’”
Third Isaiah has Yahweh explain what kind of relationships that they should have while fasting. They should try to do away with injustice. They should try to lift the yoke of those who are oppressed. They should share their bread with the hungry. They should provide housing for the homeless. They should clothe the naked. In some sense, this sounds like the later Christian beatitudes in the gospel stories. They should take care of their relatives or next of kin. If they did all these things, then their light would be like the dawning of a new day. They would heal quickly. Their vindicator would lead them, while the glory of God would be behind them. If they called him, obviously the Lord, Yahweh, would answer their cry for help with a simple saying that he was here. How you treat others has an impact on how you treat God.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 