They lament,‘ Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers.

他们说：‘我们禁食，你为何不看见呢？我们刻苦己心，你为何不理会呢？’看哪，你们禁食的日子仍求利益，勒逼人为你们做苦工。

“我们禁食，你为何不看呢？我们刻苦己心，你为何不理会呢？”看哪，你们禁食的时候仍追求私利，剥削为你们做苦工的人。

“我们禁食，你为何不看呢？我们刻苦己心，你为何不理会呢？”看哪，你们禁食的时候仍追求私利，剥削为你们做苦工的人。

他们说，‘我们禁食，你为什么不看呢？我们刻苦己身，你为什么不理睬呢？’我说，‘看啊，禁食之日你们仍然随心所欲，压榨你们的工人。

他们说：“为什么我们禁食，你不看呢？为什么我们刻苦己身，你不理会呢？”看哪！你们在禁食的日子，仍然追求自己喜欢作的事，欺压为你们作工的人。

于是他们问：‘我们禁食，你为什么不看；我们刻苦己心，你为什么不理会呢？’看哪！在禁食的日子里，你们实际上寻求自己所喜悦的，压迫一切为你们做工的人；

他們說：我們禁食，你為何不看見呢？我們刻苦己心，你為何不理會呢？看哪，你們禁食的日子仍求利益，勒逼人為你們做苦工。

「我們禁食，你為何不看呢？我們刻苦己心，你為何不理會呢？」看哪，你們禁食的時候仍追求私利，剝削為你們做苦工的人。

「我們禁食，你為何不看呢？我們刻苦己心，你為何不理會呢？」看哪，你們禁食的時候仍追求私利，剝削為你們做苦工的人。

他們說，『我們禁食，你為什麼不看呢？我們刻苦己身，你為什麼不理睬呢？』我說，『看啊，禁食之日你們仍然隨心所欲，壓榨你們的工人。

他們說：“為甚麼我們禁食，你不看呢？為甚麼我們刻苦己身，你不理會呢？”看哪！你們在禁食的日子，仍然追求自己喜歡作的事，欺壓為你們作工的人。

他們說：「為甚麼我們禁食，而你不看呢？為甚麼我們刻苦自己，而你不理會呢？」嘿，你們禁食的日子、仍然追求所喜歡作的事！逕自壓迫一切為你們作苦工的人！

於是他們問：『我們禁食，你為什麼不看；我們刻苦己心，你為什麼不理會呢？』看哪！在禁食的日子裡，你們實際上尋求自己所喜悅的，欺壓一切為你們做工的人；

彼曰、我禁食、爾不顧、我苦心、爾不知、何也、曰、爾禁食時、尚營己事、苛虐傭人、

彼曰、我已禁食、卑以自牧、爾不垂顧、其意何居、曰、爾雖禁食、乃縱私欲、威迫傭人。

彼曰、我儕禁食而主不視、反躬克己而主不顧、是何故歟、曰、爾曹禁食、仍求利己、且勒逼人為爾作工、

‘ Why have we fasted,’ they say,‘ and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’“ Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.

‘ We have gone without food,’ they say.‘ Why haven’t you noticed it? We have made ourselves suffer. Why haven’t you paid any attention to us?’“ On the day when you fast, you do as you please. You take advantage of all your workers.

‘ Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.

‘ We have fasted before you!’ they say.‘ Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’“ I will tell you why!” I respond.“ It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.

“ Why have we fasted, but you have not seen? We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!”“ Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, and oppress all your workers.

‘ Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.

‘ Why have we fasted,’ they say,‘ and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’“ In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.

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 exact all your labors.

“ Why have we fasted, but You have not seen? We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!”“ Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, and oppress all your workers.

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.

‘ Why have we fasted,’ they say,‘ and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’“ Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and oppress all your laborers.

You have said,‘ It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD who rules over all?

I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me.

Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else.“ Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this:‘ God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers– or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’

The one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

“ Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows:‘ When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me– for me, indeed?And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves?’”Should you not have obeyed the words that the LORD cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the Shephelah were also populated?

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.He issued a proclamation and said,“ In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water.Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestly to God, and everyone must turn from their evil way of living and from the violence that they do.

I considered these things carefully and then registered a complaint with the wealthy and the officials. I said to them,“ Each one of you is seizing the collateral from your own countrymen!” Because of them I called for a great public assembly.

but he answered his father,‘ Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends!

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks.I ate no choice food; no meat or wine came to my lips, nor did I anoint myself with oil until the end of those three weeks.

But look, there is outright celebration! You say,“ Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep, eat meat and drink wine. Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

Everyone was supposed to free their male and female Hebrew slaves. No one was supposed to keep a fellow Judean enslaved.All the people and their leaders had agreed to this. They had agreed to free their male and female slaves and not keep them enslaved any longer. They originally complied with the covenant and freed them.But later they had changed their minds. They had taken back their male and female slaves that they had freed and forced them to be slaves again.That was when the LORD spoke to Jeremiah,“ The LORD God of Israel has a message for you.‘ I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. It stipulated,“ Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.Recently, however, you yourselves showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own.But then you turned right around and showed that you did not honor me. Each of you took back your male and female slaves whom you had freed as they desired, and you forced them to be your slaves again.So I, the LORD, say:“ You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the LORD, affirm it! I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you.

I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.

After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying,‘ Pay back what you owe me!’Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him,‘ Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt.When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place.Then his lord called the first slave and said to him,‘ Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me!Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed.So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Then God met Balaam, who said to him,“ I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

Listen to this, you leaders of the family of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You hate justice and pervert all that is right.You build Zion through bloody crimes, Jerusalem through unjust violence.Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the LORD and say,“ The LORD is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!”

It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves. It is a perpetual statute.

During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God.God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,

“ The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the LORD.

When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner,saying,‘ These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’

“ This is to be a perpetual statute for you. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves and do no work of any kind, both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides in your midst,