‘ 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.

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.

“ 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,‘ What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?

When I weep and fast, they scoff at me.

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:“ Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer:‘ I thank you, God, that I am not like other people— cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.

“ Say to all your people and your priests,‘ During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting?And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves?Isn’t this the same message the Lord proclaimed through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of Judah were well populated?’”

When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes.Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:“ No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all.People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.

After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them,“ You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.

but he replied,‘ All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.

When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks.All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say,“ Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves— both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage.The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command,but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.So the Lord gave them this message through Jeremiah:“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt.I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me.Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name.But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.“ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth.

For I was angry with my chosen people and punished them by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You oppressed even the elderly.

“ But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.“ His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time.‘ Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.“ When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said,‘ You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.“ That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

and God met him there. Balaam said to him,“ I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar.”

Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right.You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption.You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.“ No harm can come to us,” you say,“ for the Lord is here among us.”

It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.

Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

“ Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month— nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the Lord.

When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,‘ Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

“ On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you.