Isaiah 59

1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not too short to save; neither his ear too heavy for hearing;

Lo, the hand of Jehovah Hath not been shortened from saving, Nor heavy his ear from hearing.

2 But your iniquities have ever made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have caused him to hide his face from you, so that he would not hear.

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 iniquity: your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue uttereth deception.

For your hands have been polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue perverseness doth mutter.

4 No one admonisheth with righteousness, and no one executeth justice in truth; men trust in naught, and speak lies; they have conceived mischief, and bring forth wickedness.

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 Basilisk's eggs do they hatch, and spider's webs do they weave: he that eateth of their eggs must die, and if one be crushed, a viper will break forth.

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 webs cannot serve for garments, and they cannot clothe themselves with their works: their works are works of wickedness, and the deed of violence is in their hands.

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 Their feet run to what is evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; wasting and destruction are on their highways.

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 The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice on their tracks: their paths they have made unto themselves crooked; whosoever walketh therein knoweth 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 is justice far from us, nor will happiness overtake us: we ever hope for light, but behold there is darkness; for brightness, but in obscurity must we walk.

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 We grope like the blind on the wall, and as if we had no eyes do we grope: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; we are in complete darkness like the dead.

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 We growl all of us like bears, and like doves do we moan sorely; we ever hope for justice, but there is none; for aid, but it is 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 transgressions are numerous in thy presence, and our sins testify against us; for of our transgressions are we aware; and our iniquities—we know them;

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 transgressed and denied the Lord, and departed away from our God; we spoke oppression and revolt, conceived and brought forth in our heart words of falsehood.

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 justice is forced to turn backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth stumbled in the street, and equity is not able to enter.

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 thus is the truth missing; and he that departeth from evil is regarded as foolish: and the Lord saw it, and it was displeasing in his eyes that there was no justice.

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 saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought him aid, and his righteousness, —yea, this sustained him.

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 coat of mail, and [placed] the helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance as raiment, and wrapped himself with zeal as with a 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 According to the demerits, so will he repay [all], fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands will he repay what they have merited.

According to deeds — so He repayeth. Fury to His adversaries, [their] deed to His enemies, To the isles [their] deed He repayeth.

19 And they shall fear from the west the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun his glory; for there shall come distress like the stream which the Spirit of the Lord urgeth forward.

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 But unto Zion shall come the redeemer, and unto those who return from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.

And come to Zion hath a redeemer, Even to captives of transgression in Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.

21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy children, nor out of the mouth of thy children's children, saith the Lord, from henceforth and unto all eternity.

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!