Isaiah 59

1 Lo! the hand of Yahweh is not too short to save, —Neither is his ear too heavy to hear.

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.

2 But, your iniquities, have become separators betwixt you and your God, And your sins, have caused a hiding of face from you that he should-not hear.

But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

3 For, your hands, are defiled with blood, And, your fingers, with iniquity, —Your lips, have spoken falsehood, and Your tongue, muttereth, perversity.

For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.

4 None, sueth in righteousness, and None, pleadeth in faithfulness, —Men are trusting in confusion, And speaking vanity, Conceiving wickedness And bringing forth iniquity:

No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

5 Viper’s eggs, do they hatch, Spider’s threads, do they weave, —He that eateth of their eggs, dieth, And, that which is crushed, bringeth forth an adder;

They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

6 Their threads, shall not become a garment, Neither shall they cover themselves with their fabrics, —Their fabrics, are fabrics of iniquity, Yea the product of violence is in their hands;

Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.

7 Their feet, to mischief, do run, And they speed to shed innocent blood, —Their devices, are devices of iniquity, Wasting and destruction, are in their high roads;

Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

8 the way of well-being, have they not known, And there is no justice in their tracks, —Their paths, have they made crooked for themselves, None who treadeth therein knoweth well—being.

The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.

9 For this cause, hath justice removed far from us, And righteousness overtaketh us not, —We wait for light, But lo! darkness, For brightness, In thick darkness, we walk:

Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10 We grope, as blind men for a wall, Yea, as men without eyes, do we grope, —We have stumbled at broad noon as though it were twilight, In desolate places like the dead!

Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

11 We growl like bears all of us, And, like doves, do we, mournfully coo, —We wait For justice, and there is none, For salvation it is far from us!

We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

12 For our transgressions have multiplied before thee, And, our sins, have witnessed against us, —For, our transgressions, are with us, And as for our iniquities, we acknowledge them:

For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:

13 Transgressing, and denying Yahweh, And turning away from following our God, —Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving, and muttering from the heart, words of falsehood.

rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.

14 So then there hath been a driving back of justice, And righteousness, afar off, standeth, —For truth, hath stumbled in the broad-way, And, right, cannot enter;

So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

15 And the truth hath been found missing, And he that hath turned away from wrong is liable to be despoiled, And when, Yahweh, looked, Then was it grievous in his eyes that there was no justice:

Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil becomes prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

16 When he saw that there was no mighty man, Then was he astonished that there was none to interpose, —So his own arm brought him salvation, And his own righteousness, the same, upheld him;

He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.

17 And he put on Righteousness as a coat of mail, And a helmet of victory upon his head, —And he put on the garments of avenging, for clothing, And wrapped about him as a cloak—jealousy,

He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.

18 According to their deeds, accordingly, will he repay, Indignation to his adversaries, Recompense to his enemies, —To the Coastlands—recompense, will he repay:

So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.

19 That they may revere—From the West the name of Yahweh, And from the Rising of the Sun his glory, For he will come in like a rushing stream, the breath of Yahweh, driving it on;

So shall they fear the name of the LORD where the sun sets, and His glory where it rises. For He will come like a raging flood, driven by the breath of the LORD.

20 So shall come in for Zion, a Redeemer, Even for such as are turning from transgression in Jacob, —Declareth Yahweh.

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,”

21 And as for me, this, shall be my covenant with them, Saith Yahweh: My spirit that is upon thee, And my words which I have put in thy mouth, —Shall not be taken out of thy mouth—Nor out of the mouth of thy seed. Nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, Saith Yahweh, From henceforth even unto times age-abiding.

“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.