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Epiphany · Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany · Year A

Isaiah 58:3-9a

The Fast That God Chooses

February 8, 2026

The Works of Mercy, Pieter Brueghel the Younger
The Works of Mercy, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, c. 1616-1620Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
One village street with all of it happening at once: bread handed down from a doorway, the thirsty given drink, the naked clothed, a prisoner visited through a grating, and the dead carried out at the back.Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them … Then your light shall break forth like the dawn.Pieter Brueghel the YoungerBrueghel the Younger, who put the works of mercy into an ordinary street rather than an allegory.Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, AntwerpThe Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 5:13-20Mt 5:13-20
Epistle1 Cor. 2:1-12 (13-16)1 Cor 2:1-12 (13-16)
Old TestamentIsa. 58:3-9aIs 58:3-9a
PsalterPs. 112:1-9Ps 112:1-9

Overview & Insights

"Is not this the fast that I choose... to loose the bonds of wickedness... Then shall your light break forth like the dawn." (Isaiah 58:6, 8)

The people complain that God has not noticed their fasting, and God answers that their fasts serve their own interests while they oppress their workers and quarrel. The fast God actually wants is concrete justice: freeing the oppressed, sharing bread with the hungry, housing the homeless, and clothing the naked, after which God promises that light will break forth like the dawn.

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Take it further: Isaiah 58:3-9a

Commentary

Commentary on Isaiah 58:1-9a [9b-12]Commentary on Is 58:1-9a [9b-12] Working Preacher

Traces the prophet's critique of a ruling class whose fasting props up business as usual.

Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12) CommentaryIs 58:1-9a, (9b-12) Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

A Reformed homiletical read on fasting as spiritual transformation rather than a means of earning favor.

Isaiah 58 CommentaryIs 58 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse by verse evangelical notes on the fast God chooses versus the fast Israel offered.

Isaiah 58:6 CommentariesIs 58:6 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic public domain commentaries gathered for comparison on this chapter.

Old Testament: Isaiah 58:3-9a (Epiphany 5: Series A)Old Testament: Is 58:3-9a (Epiphany 5: Series A) 1517.org

A Lutheran preaching resource connecting this fast to the acceptable year of the Lord Jesus proclaims.

Background & Word Study

Isaiah 58:6 InterlinearIs 58:6 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew text word by word for loose and share and the light breaking forth.

Isaiah 58:3-9Is 58:3-9 Sefaria

The Hebrew text alongside Jewish commentary on the same verses.

Isaiah 40-66 VideoIs 40-66 Video BibleProject

A video overview of Isaiah's second half, where this call to justice sits.

The Church Fathers

Isaiah 58 CatenaIs 58 Catena Catena

Patristic comment on true fasting collected for the chapter.

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