Isaiah 59
1 Behold, the hand of the Lord has not been shortened, so that it cannot save, and his ear has not been blocked, so that it cannot hear.
Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have made a division between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you, so that he would not hear.
Your sinful acts, however, have separated you from your God, and your sins have made him hide his face from you and from hearing you.
3 For your hands have been polluted by blood, and your fingers by iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity.
For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin. Your lips speak lies and your tongue speaks maliciously.
4 There is no one who calls for justice, and there is no one who judges truly. For they trust in nothing, and they speak emptiness. They have conceived hardship, and they have given birth to iniquity.
No one calls in righteousness, and none pleads his case in truth. They trust in empty words, and tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to sin.
5 They have ruptured the eggs of asps, and they have woven the webs of spiders. Whoever will eat of their eggs will die. For what has been incubated will hatch into a king snake.
They hatch eggs of a poisonous snake and weave a spider's web. Whoever eats of their eggs dies, and if an egg is crushed, it hatches into a poisonous snake.
6 Their weavings will not be for clothing, nor will they cover themselves with their handiwork. Their works are useless things, and the work of iniquity is in their hands.
Their webs cannot be used for garments, nor can they cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of sin, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are useless thoughts; devastation and destruction are in their ways.
Their feet run to evil, and they run to pour out innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of sin; violence and destruction are their roads.
8 They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their steps. Their paths have become crooked for them. Anyone who treads in them knows no peace.
The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. They have made crooked paths; whoever travels these paths does not know peace.
9 Because of this, judgment is far from us, and justice will not take hold of us. We waited for light, and behold, darkness; we waited for brightness, and we walked in darkness.
Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness reach us. We wait for light, but see darkness; we look for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We groped for the wall, like one who is blind, and we felt our way, like one without eyes. We stumbled at midday, as if in darkness; and in darkness, as if in death.
We grope for the wall like the blind, like those who cannot see. We stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among the strong we are like dead men.
11 We will all roar like bears, and we will sigh like despondent doves. We hoped for judgment, and there is none; for salvation, and it is far from us.
We growl like bears and moan like doves; we wait for justice, but there is none; for rescue, but it is far from us.
12 For our iniquities have been multiplied in your sight, and our sins have answered us. For our wickedness is with us, and we have acknowledged our iniquities:
For our many transgressions are before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our sins.
13 sinning and lying against the Lord. And we have turned away, not so as to go after our God, and so that we were speaking calumny and transgression. We have conceived, and spoken from the heart, words of falsehood.
We have rebelled, denying Yahweh and turning away from following our God. We have spoken extortion and turning aside, conceived complaining from the heart and words of lying.
14 And judgment has been turned backwards, and justice has stood far away. For truth has fallen down in the street, and fairness was not able to enter.
Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, and right cannot come.
15 And the truth has gone into oblivion. And he who withdraws from evil endures plunder. And the Lord saw this, and it seemed evil in his eyes. For there is no judgment.
Trustworthiness has gone away, and he who turns away from evil makes himself a victim. Yahweh saw it and was displeased that there was no justice.
16 And he saw that there was no good man. And he was astonished that there was no one to meet him. And his own arm brought salvation to him, and his own justice strengthened him.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene. Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him, and his righteousness sustained him.
17 He clothed himself with justice as with a breastplate, and with a helmet of salvation upon his head. He put on the vestments of vengeance, and he was covered with zeal as with a cloak.
He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head. He clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wore zeal as a mantle.
18 This was for vindication, as a repayment of indignation to his adversaries, and as a sudden reversal for his enemies. He will repay the islands in their turn.
He repaid them for what they had done, angry judgment to his adversaries, vengeance to his enemies, to the islands punishment as their reward.
19 And those from the west will fear the name of the Lord, and those from the rising of the sun will fear his glory, when he arrives like a violent river, which the Spirit of the Lord urges on.
So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west, and his glory from the sun's rising; for he will come as a rushing stream, driven by the breath of Yahweh.
20 And the Redeemer will arrive in Zion, and to those who return from the iniquity within Jacob, says the Lord.
“A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—this is Yahweh's declaration.
21 This is my pact with them, says the Lord. My Spirit is within you, and my words, which I have put in your mouth, will not withdraw from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says the Lord, from this moment, and even forever.
As for me, this is my covenant with them—says Yahweh—my spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or go out of the mouth of your children, or go out of the mouth of your children's children—says Yahweh—from this time and forever.”
