Isaiah 59
1 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].
Lo! the hand of Yahweh is not too short to save, —Neither is his ear too heavy to hear.
2 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.
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.
3 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].
For, your hands, are defiled with blood, And, your fingers, with iniquity, —Your lips, have spoken falsehood, and Your tongue, muttereth, perversity.
4 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.
None, sueth in righteousness, and None, pleadeth in faithfulness, —Men are trusting in confusion, And speaking vanity, Conceiving wickedness And bringing forth iniquity:
5 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.
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;
6 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.
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;
7 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.
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;
8 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.
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.
9 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].
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:
10 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.
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!
11 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.
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!
12 [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.
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:
13 [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.
Transgressing, and denying Yahweh, And turning away from following our God, —Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving, and muttering from the heart, words of falsehood.
14 [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.
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;
15 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.
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:
16 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].
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;
17 [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.
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,
18 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].
According to their deeds, accordingly, will he repay, Indignation to his adversaries, Recompense to his enemies, —To the Coastlands—recompense, will he repay:
19 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.
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;
20 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).
So shall come in for Zion, a Redeemer, Even for such as are turning from transgression in Jacob, —Declareth Yahweh.
21 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.”
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.
