Isaiah 59
1 Don't you see? The Lord's arm isn't too weak to save you, and his ear isn't too deaf to hear you!
Listen to this! Yahweh’s power [MTY] is not ended/gone, with the result that he cannot save [you]. He has not become deaf [MTY], with the result that he cannot hear [you when you call to him for help].
2 It's your guilt that has created a barrier between you and your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so he can't hear you.
But, you have separated yourselves from your God by the sins that you have committed. Because of your sins, he has turned away from you, with the result that he does not pay attention to what you request him to do.
3 Your hands are covered in blood and your fingers tainted with guilt, your lips speak lies and your mouth whispers evil things.
You do violent things [MTY] [to others], with the result that your hands are stained with their blood. You [constantly] tell [MTY] lies, and you say [MTY] evil things [about others].
4 Nobody wants justice, nobody pleads their case with honesty. They rely on false testimony, and tell lies. They conceive evil plans, and give birth to trouble.
When you accuse someone in court, what you say is not fair and it is not true. You accuse people falsely. You are [constantly] planning to cause trouble for others, and then you do those evil things that you planned.
5 They hatch viper's eggs, and weave a spider's web. If you eat their eggs you'll die; if you crush their eggs you'll only hatch snakes.
What you plan to do to harm people [MET] is as dangerous as the eggs of a (cobra/poisonous snake), because cobras will hatch from those eggs. You trap people like [MET] spiders trap/catch insects in their webs.
6 Their webs can't be made into clothes; they can't cover themselves by what they produce. What they do is wicked; they use their hands to commit violence.
We people cannot hide/cover our skin with clothes made of spider webs [MET], and similarly you cannot hide the evil things that you have done. You are [constantly] acting [MTY] violently.
7 They run to do evil; they're quick to murder innocent people. Their minds are full of sinful thoughts; they only cause havoc and destruction.
You [SYN] are very quick to go and do evil things, and you hurry to murder people [MTY] who are innocent. You are [continually] thinking about sinning. Wherever you go, you destroy things and cause people to suffer.
8 They don't know how to live in peace; they're not straight and fair with others. Their way is totally crooked, and anyone who follows them won't experience any peace.
You do not know how to act peacefully or to treat others fairly. You always are (dishonest/deceiving others) [MET], and those who imitate your behavior never have any inner peace.
9 So that's why we don't have justice, and we don't do what's right. We look for the light, but only find the dark; we look for bright light, but we walk in deep darkness.
Because of that, God does not rescue us [from our enemies]; [it seems that] he is not acting fairly/righteously toward us. We expect [God to give us] light, but all [he gives us] is darkness [DOU].
10 We grope like blind people along a wall, feeling with our hands as if we have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were the evening. Among those who are full of life, we are like the dead.
We are like [SIM] blind people who have to feel along a wall to be able to walk anywhere. We stumble [and trip] at noontime like [SIM] we would when it is dark. We are like [SIM] dead people who are among healthy people.
11 All of us growl like bears and coo like doves as we wait for justice to be done, but it never happens; we wait for salvation, but never receive it.
We growl like [SIM] [hungry] bears; we continually moan like [SIM] doves. We seek [people who do] what is just/fair, but we cannot find any [anywhere]. [We want God] to rescue us, but [it seems that] he is far away.
12 You are aware of all our rebellious acts; our sins witness against us. Yes, we acknowledge our rebellious acts; we know all about our sins.
[But these things are happening] because [it is as though] our sins are piled high in the presence of God, and that they testify [PRS] against us. We cannot deny it; we know that we have done many wrong things.
13 We have disobeyed and denied you, Lord; we have turned our backs on our God. We have encouraged oppression and rebellion, telling lies we've carefully thought out.
[We know that] we have rebelled against Yahweh; we have turned away from him. We (oppress people/treat people cruelly) by what we testify [against them]; we do not allow them to get what they have a right to get. We [SYN] think about the lies that we can tell, and then we tell them.
14 Justice is rejected, and doing right never happens. Truth falls down in the street, and honesty is banned.
[In our courts, the judges] do not decide cases/matters fairly; no one is acting righteously. In plazas where people gather together, no one tells the truth [PRS]; [it seems that people] are not allowed to say what is true.
15 There's no truth anywhere, and anyone who does give up evil is robbed. The Lord saw what was going on, and was upset that there was no justice.
No one tells the truth, and people try to ruin [the reputations of] those who quit doing evil. Yahweh looked around, and he saw that no one was doing what is just/fair, and he was [very] displeased.
16 He looked around, and he was appalled to find there was no one who would do anything about it, so he intervened himself, and his sense of what was right kept him going.
He was disgusted when he saw that no one tried to help [those who were being treated cruelly]. So he used his own power [MTY] to rescue them; it is because he is always righteous that he did that [PRS].
17 He put on integrity as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on clothes of vengeance and wrapped himself with determination as a cloak.
[It is as though he is a soldier who] [MET] puts on his armor and a helmet; his continually doing what is right is like [MET] his armor, and his ability to rescue people is [like] his helmet. His being extremely angry and his being ready to get revenge [on those who do evil] are like [MET] his robes.
18 He will repay everyone for what they've done: fury to his enemies, revenge to those who oppose him, payback to the distant lands.
He will repay his enemies for the evil things that they have done. He will severely punish [MTY] even those who live far [from Jerusalem].
19 Those in the west will be in awe of the Lord, and those in the east will be amazed at his glory, for he will arrive like a raging flood, driven by the Spirit of the Lord.
When that happens, people everywhere, from the east to the west, will respect and honor Yahweh [MTY], because he will come like [SIM] a rushing river that is pushed along by the strong wind that Yahweh sent.
20 The Redeemer will come to Zion, to Jacob's descendants who turn from their sins, declares the Lord.
And Yahweh says that he will come to Jerusalem to free [his people]; he will come to rescue those in Judah who have quit (doing sinful things/their sinful behavior).
21 This is my agreement with them, says the Lord. My Spirit, who is upon you, won't leave you, and my words that I have given you to speak will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children, and on the lips of your descendants, from now until forever, says the Lord.
This is what Yahweh says to his people: “This is the agreement that I will make with you: My Spirit will not leave you, and you will always have my message. You will [be able to] declare it [MTY], and your children and grandchildren will [be able to] declare it forever.”
