‘ 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.

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、

‘ 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.

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.

‘ 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 futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?

When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:“ Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed:‘ God, I thank you that I am not like other people— robbers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.

“ Ask all the people of the land and the priests,‘ When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:“ By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.

I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them,“ You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them

But he answered his father,‘ Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks.I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine!“ Let us eat and drink,” you say,“ for tomorrow we die!”

Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free.But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said,‘ Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.“ Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim‘ freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘ freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.

I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.

“ But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him.‘ Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.“ His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him,‘ Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’“ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.“ Then the master called the servant in.‘ You wicked servant,’ he said,‘ I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.“ This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

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

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right;who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,“ Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.”

It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.

During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

“ The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord.

When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.‘ These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said,‘ and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“ This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work— whether native- born or a foreigner residing among you—