Isaiah 59

Evil and Oppression

1  Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2  but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3  For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4  No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5  They hatch adders' eggs;
they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6  Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7  Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8  The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.

9  Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10  We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11  We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope 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 we know our iniquities:
13  transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
14  Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.

15  Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Judgment and Redemption

20  "And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression," declares the Lord.

21 "And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord: "My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring," says the Lord, "from this time forth and forevermore."

Isaiah 59

Injustice Brings Alienation from God

1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weakt to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you.t

2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.t

3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.

4 No one is concerned about justice;t
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false wordst and tell lies;
they conceive of oppressiont
and give birth to sin.

5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched.t

6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes.t

7 They are eager to do evil,t
quick to shed innocent blood.t
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy.t

8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust.t
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.t

Israel Confesses its Sin

9 For this reason deliverancet is far from uss
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light,s but see only darkness;t
we wait fort a bright light,t but livet in deep darkness.t

10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see;t
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men.t

11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance,t but there is none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.

12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,t
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well.t

13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir upt oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds.t

14 Justice is driven back;
godlinesst stands far off.
Indeed,t honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.

15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased,t
for there is no justice.

The Lord Intervenes

16 He sees there is no advocate;t
he is shockedt that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands;t
his desire for justice drives him on.t

17 He wears his desire for justicet like body armor,t
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.t
He puts on the garments of vengeancet
and wears zeal like a robe.

18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies.t
He repays the coastlands.t

19 In the west, people respects the Lord’s reputation;t
in the east they recognize his splendor.t
For he comes like a rushingt stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord.t

20 “A protectort comes to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,”t says the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my promise tots them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,”t says the Lord.