Isaiah 58:5
Is this the fast I have chosen:
What it says
God rejects the merely external fast of bowed heads and sackcloth as the fast He has chosen.
What it is doing
This verse dismisses performative humility divorced from justice.
In context
1“Cry aloud, do not hold back! 2For day after day they seek Me 3“Why have we fasted, 4You fast with contention and strife 5Is this the fast I have chosen: 6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: 7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, 8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, 9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; 10and if you give yourself to the hungry 11The LORD will always guide you; 12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; 13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, 14then you will delight yourself in the LORD,