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English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 3
Fast that pleases God
3:1 Λέγει οὖν πάλιν περὶ τούτων πρὸς αὐτούς·
Ἱνατί μοι νηστεύετε, λέγει κύριος, ὡς σήμερον ἀκουσθῆναι ἐν κραυγῇ τὴν φωνὴν ὑμῶν;
οὐ ταύτην τὴν νηστείαν ἐξελεξάμην, λέγει κύριος, οὐκ ἄνθρωπον ταπεινοῦντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, 		He speaks therefore again concerning these things to them: “Why do you fast for Me,” says the Lord, “so that today your voice should be heard in a cry? I have not chosen this kind of fast,” says the Lord, “not a man humbling his soul,
3:2 οὐδ' ἄν κάμψητε ὡς κρίκον τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν καὶ σάκκον ἐνδύσησθε καὶ σποδὸν ὑποστρώσητε, οὐδ' οὕτως καλέσετε νηστείαν δεκτήν.
 nor if you should bend your neck like a ring and put on sackcloth and spread ashes under you—not even so will you call it an acceptable fast.”
3:3 πρὸς ἡμᾶς δὲ λέγει·
Ἰδοὺ αὕτη ἡ νηστεία ἣν ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην, λέγει κύριος·
λύε πάν σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας, διάλυε στραγγαλιὰς βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων, ἀπόστελλε τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει, καὶ πᾶσαν ἄδικον συγγραφὴν διάσπα.
διάθρυπτε πεινῶσιν τὸν ἄρτον σου, καὶ γυμνὸν ἐὰν ἴδῃς περίβαλε·
ἀστέγους εἴσαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκον σου, καὶ ἐὰν ἴδῃς ταπεινόν, οὐχ ὑπερόψῃ αὐτόν, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων τοῦ σπέρματός σου.
 But to us He says: “Look, this is the fast that I have chosen,” says the Lord: “loose every bond of injustice, untie the knots of violent contracts, send away the crushed in forgiveness, and tear apart every unjust agreement.
Break your bread for the hungry, and if you see the naked, clothe him; bring the homeless into your house, and if you see someone brought low, you shall not overlook him, nor anyone from the household of your own seed.
3:4 τότε ῥαγήσεται πρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου, καὶ τὰ ἰάματά[2] σου ταχέως ἀνατελεῖ, καὶ προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ περιστελεῖ σε.
 Then your light shall break forth early, and your garments shall quickly arise, and righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall encompass you.
[2] Alt. texts: ἱματία and ἱματα.
3:5 τότε βοήσεις, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐπακούσεταί σου, ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῖ·
Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι·
ἐὰν ἀφέλῃς ἀπὸ σου σύνδεσμον καὶ χειροτονίαν καὶ ῥῆμα γογγυσμοῦ, καὶ δῷς πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον σου ἐκ ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ψυχὴν τεταπεινωμένην ἐλεήσῃς.
 Then you will cry out, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking He will say, ‘Look, I am here!’—if you remove from yourself the bond, the pointing of the finger, and the word of grumbling, and give your bread to the hungry from your soul, and show mercy to a humbled soul.”
3:6 εἰς τοῦτο οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ὁ μακρόθυμος προβλέψας, ὡς ἐν ἀκεραιοσύνῃ πιστεύσει ὁ λαός, ὃν ἡτοίμασεν ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ αὐτοῦ, προεφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν περὶ πάντων, ἵνα μὴ προσρησσώμεθα ὡς ἐπήλυτοι τῷ ἐκείνων νόμῳ.
 Therefore, brothers, the Long-Suffering One, having foreseen how in integrity the people whom He prepared in His Beloved would believe, revealed beforehand to us concerning all things, so that we might not dash against their law like proselytes.
Summary
In this passage (Chapter 3 of the Epistle of Barnabas), the author continues his polemic against ritualistic Jewish practices by contrasting external, hypocritical fasting with true, God-pleasing fasting.
Quoting heavily from Isaiah 58, the text shows God rejecting outward displays of piety—such as sackcloth, ashes, and self-affliction—in favor of active righteousness, social justice, and compassion toward the needy (liberating the oppressed, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and aiding relatives).
The author concludes by assuring his readers that God foresaw the true faith of the Gentile/Christian church in Christ ("His Beloved") and revealed these spiritual truths in advance so believers would not shipwreck their faith by adopting the literal Jewish ceremonial law as outsiders.
Significant Greek Expressions
αὕτη ἡ νηστεία, ἣν ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην (this is the fast that I have chosen): Cites the Septuagint (LXX) text of Isaiah 58:6, redefining religious discipline away from ascetic display and toward social justice and mercy.

στραγγαλιὰς βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων (knots of violent contracts): A striking phrase depicting oppressive financial or legal obligations as strangling knots that must be untied.

χειροτονίαν (pointing of the finger): Used here in its classical LXX sense (Isaiah 58:9) to mean a gestures of malicious accusation, contempt, or mockery, rather than its later ecclesiastical sense of ordination.

ὁ μακρόθυμος (the Long-Suffering One): A divine title highlighting God’s patience and providential foresightedness in preparing salvation for believers through Christ.

ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ αὐτοῦ (in His Beloved): An early Christian messianic designation for Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 1:6), emphasizing the Father’s special love for the Son through whom believers are prepared.

ἵνα μὴ προσρησσώμεθα ὡς ἐπήλυτοι (so that we might not dash against / be shipwrecked like proselytes): Uses vivid nautical or collision imagery (προσρήσσω) to warn Christians against crashing into or attaching themselves as converts/foreigners (ἐπήλυτοι) to the Jewish Mosaic law.
Epistle of Barnabas