< Esias 59 >

1 Has the hand of the Lord no power to save? or has he made his ear heavy, so that he should not hear?
Lo, the hand of Jehovah Hath not been shortened from saving, Nor heavy his ear from hearing.
2 Nay, your iniquities separate between you and God, and because of your sins has he turned away [his] face from you, so as not to have mercy [upon you].
But your iniquities have been separating Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden The Presence from you — from hearing.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips also have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness.
For your hands have been polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue perverseness doth mutter.
4 None speaks justly, neither is there true judgment: they trust in vanities, and speak empty [words]; for they conceive trouble, and bring forth iniquity.
There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.
5 They have hatched asps' eggs, and weave a spider's web: and he that is going to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled egg, has found also in it a basilisk.
Eggs of a viper they have hatched, And webs of a spider they weave, Whoso is eating their eggs doth die, And the crushed hatcheth a viper.
6 Their web shall not become a garment, nor shall they at all clothe themselves with their works; for their works are works of iniquity.
Their webs become not a garment, Nor do they cover themselves with their works, Their works [are] works of iniquity, And a deed of violence [is] in their hands.
7 And their feet run to wickedness, swift to shed blood; their thoughts also are thoughts of murder; destruction and misery are in their ways;
Their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed innocent blood, Their thoughts [are] thoughts of iniquity, Spoiling and destruction [are] in their highways.
8 and the way of peace they know not, neither is there judgment in their ways; for their paths by which they go are crooked, and they know not peace.
A way of peace they have not known, And there is no judgment in their paths, Their paths they have made perverse for themselves, No treader in it hath known peace.
9 Therefore has judgment departed from them, and righteousness shall not overtake them: while they waited for light, darkness came upon them; while they waited for brightness, they walked in perplexity.
Therefore hath judgment been far from us, And righteousness reacheth us not, We wait for light, and lo, darkness, For brightness — in thick darkness we go,
10 They shall feel for the wall as blind [men], and shall feel [for it] as if they had no eyes: and they shall feel at noon-day as at midnight; they shall groan as dying men.
We feel like the blind [for] the wall, Yea, as without eyes we feel, We have stumbled at noon as at twilight, In desolate places as the dead.
11 They shall proceed together as a bear and as a dove: we have waited for judgment, and there is no salvation, it is gone far from us.
We make a noise as bears — all of us, And as doves we coo sorely; We wait for judgment, and there is none, For salvation — it hath been far from us.
12 For our iniquity is great before you, and our sins have risen up against us: for our iniquities are in us, and we know our unrighteous deeds.
For our transgressions have been multiplied before Thee, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions [are] with us, And our iniquities — we have known them.
13 We have sinned, and dealt falsely, and revolted from our God: we have spoken unrighteous words, and have been disobedient; we have conceived and uttered from our heart unrighteous words.
Transgressing, and lying against Jehovah, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostasy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.
14 And we have turned judgment back, and righteousness has departed afar off: for truth is consumed in their ways, and they could not pass by a straight [path].
And removed backward is judgment, And righteousness afar off standeth, For truth hath been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,
15 And truth has been taken away, and they have turned aside [their] mind from understanding. And the Lord saw it, and it pleased him not that there was no judgment.
And the truth is lacking, And whoso is turning aside from evil, Is making himself a spoil. And Jehovah seeth, and it is evil in His eyes, That there is no judgment.
16 And he looked, and there was no man, and he observed, and there was none to help: so he defended them with his arm, and established [them] with [his] mercy.
And He seeth that there is no man, And is astonished that there is no intercessor, And His own arm giveth salvation to Him, And His righteousness — it sustained Him.
17 And he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and placed the helmet of salvation on his head; and he clothed himself with the garment of vengeance, and with his cloak,
And He putteth on righteousness as a breastplate, And an helmet of salvation on His head, And He putteth on garments of vengeance [for] clothing, And is covered, as [with] an upper-robe, [with] zeal.
18 as one about to render a recompence, [even] reproach to his adversaries.
According to deeds — so He repayeth. Fury to His adversaries, [their] deed to His enemies, To the isles [their] deed He repayeth.
19 So shall they of the west fear the name of the Lord, and they [that come] from the rising of the sun his glorious name: for the wrath of the Lord shall come as a mighty river, it shall come with fury.
And they fear from the west the name of Jehovah, And from the rising of the sun — His honour, When come in as a flood doth an adversary, The Spirit of Jehovah hath raised an ensign against him.
20 And the deliverer shall come for Sion's sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
And come to Zion hath a redeemer, Even to captives of transgression in Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.
21 And this shall be my covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit which is upon you, and the words which I have put in your mouth, shall never fail from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever.
And I — this [is] My covenant with them, said Jehovah, My Spirit that [is] on thee, And My words that I have put in thy mouth, Depart not from thy mouth, And from the mouth of thy seed, And from the mouth of thy seed's seed, said Jehovah, From henceforth unto the age!

< Esias 59 >