Isaiah 59

The Evil That People Do

1 Surely the Lord’s power is enough to save you. He can hear you when you ask him for help.

2 It is your evil that has separated you from your God.
Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you.

3 With your hands you have killed others, and with your fingers you have done wrong.
With your lips you have lied, and with your tongue you say evil things.

4 People take each other to court unfairly, and no one tells the truth in arguing his case.
They accuse each other falsely and tell lies. They cause trouble and create more evil.

5 They hatch evil like eggs from poisonous snakes. If you eat one of those eggs, you will die, and if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out.
People tell lies as they would spin a spider’s web.

6 The webs they make cannot be used for clothes; you can’t cover yourself with those webs.
The things they do are evil, and they use their hands to hurt others.

7 They eagerly run to do evil, and they are always ready to kill innocent people.
They think evil thoughts. Everywhere they go they cause ruin and destruction.

8 They don’t know how to live in peace, and there is no fairness in their lives.
They are dishonest. Anyone who lives as they live will never have peace.

Israel’s Sin Brings Trouble

9 Fairness has gone far away; goodness is nowhere to be found.
We wait for the light, but there is only darkness now. We hope for a bright light, but all we have is darkness.

10 We are like the blind feeling our way along a wall. We feel our way as if we had no eyes.
In the brightness of day we trip as if it were night. We are like dead men among the strong.

11 All of us growl like the bears. We call out sadly like the doves.
We look for justice, but there isn’t any. We want to be saved, but salvation is far away.

12 We have done many wrong things against our God; our sins show we are wrong.
We know we have turned against God; we know the evil things we have done:

13 sinning and rejecting the Lord, turning away from our God,
planning to hurt others and to disobey God, planning and speaking lies.

14 So we have driven away justice, and we have kept away from what is right.
Truth is not spoken in the streets; what is honest is not allowed to enter the city.

15 Truth cannot be found anywhere, and people who refuse to do evil are attacked.
The Lord looked and could not find any justice, and he was displeased.

16 He could not find anyone to help the people, and he was surprised that there was no one to help.
So he used his own power to save the people; his own goodness gave him strength.

17 He covered himself with goodness like armor. He put the helmet of salvation on his head.
He put on his clothes for punishing and wrapped himself in the coat of his strong love.

18 The Lord will pay back his enemies for what they have done. He will show his anger to those who were against him; he will punish the people in faraway places as they deserve.

19 Then people from the west will fear the Lord, and people from the east will fear his glory.
The Lord will come quickly like a fast-flowing river, driven by the breath of the Lord.

20 “Then a Savior will come to Jerusalem and to the people of Jacob who have turned from sin,” says the Lord.
21 The Lord says, “This is my agreement with these people: My Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you or your children or your grandchildren, now and forever.”

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.