Isaiah 59

Separated from God

1 Behold, the Lords hand is not shortened, Behold, the Lords hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.5 They hatch vipers eggs and weave the spiders web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.6 Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

Sin Confessed

9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Redeemer of ZionThen the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.

16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.19 So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.20 The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, Says the Lord.21 As for Me, says the Lord, this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants descendants, says the Lord, from this time and forevermore.

ISAIAH 59

Social Injustice //Is Condemned

1 The [Lord] hasn't lost
his powerful strength;
he can still hear
and answer prayers.

2 Your sins are the roadblock
between you and your God.
That's why he doesn't answer
your prayers
or let you see his face.

3 Your talk is filled with lies
and plans for violence;
every finger on your hands
is covered with blood.

4 You falsely accuse others
and tell lies in court;
sin and trouble are the names
of your children.

5 You eat the deadly eggs
of poisonous snakes,
and more snakes crawl out
from the eggs left to hatch.
You weave spider webs,

6 but you can't make clothes
with those webs
or hide behind them.
You're sinful and brutal.

7  t You hurry off to do wrong
or murder innocent victims.
All you think about is sin;
you leave ruin and destruction
wherever you go.

8 You don't know how
to live in peace
or to be fair with others.
The roads you make are crooked;
your followers cannot find peace.

The People Confess //Their Sins

9 No one has come to defend us
or to bring about justice.
We hoped for a day of sunshine,
but all we found
was a dark, gloomy night.

10 We feel our way along,
as if we were blind;
we stumble at noon,
as if it were night.
We can see no better
than someone dead.t

11 We growl like bears
and mourn like doves.
We hope for justice and victory,
but they escape us.

12 How often have we sinned
and turned against you,
the [Lord] God?
Our sins condemn us!
We have done wrong.

13 We have rebelled and refused
to follow you.
Our hearts were deceitful,
and so we lied;
we planned to abuse others
and turn our backs on you.

14 Injustice is everywhere;
justice seems far away.
Truth is chased out of court;
honesty is shoved aside.

15 Everyone tells lies;
those who turn from crime
end up ruined.

The [Lord] Will Rescue //His People

16  t It disgusted him even more
to learn that no one
would do a thing about it.
So with his own powerful arm,
he won victories for truth.

17  t Justice was the [Lord]'s armor;
saving power was his helmet;
anger and revenge
were his clothes.

18 Now the [Lord] will get furious
and do to his enemies,
both near and far,
what they did to his people.

19 He will attack like a flood
in a mighty windstorm.
Nations in the west and the east
will then honor and praise
his wonderful name.

20  t The [Lord] has promised to rescue
the city of Zion
and Jacob's descendants
who turn from sin.

21 The [Lord] says: “My people,
I promise to give you my Spirit
and my message.
These will be my gifts to you
and your families forever.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.”