Isaiah 59
1 Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.
Has the hand of the Lord no power to save? or has he made his ear heavy, so that he should not hear?
2 Your sinful acts, however, have separated you from your God, and your sins have made him hide his face from you and from hearing you.
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].
3 For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin. Your lips speak lies and your tongue speaks maliciously.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips also have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness.
4 No one calls in righteousness, and none pleads his case in truth. They trust in empty words, and tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to sin.
None speaks justly, neither is there true judgment: they trust in vanities, and speak empty [words]; for they conceive trouble, and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch eggs of a poisonous snake and weave a spider's web. Whoever eats of their eggs dies, and if an egg is crushed, it hatches into a poisonous snake.
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.
6 Their webs cannot be used for garments, nor can they cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of sin, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
Their web shall not become a garment, nor shall they at all clothe themselves with their works; for their works are works of iniquity.
7 Their feet run to evil, and they run to pour out innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of sin; violence and destruction are their roads.
And their feet run to wickedness, swift to shed blood; their thoughts also are thoughts of murder; destruction and misery are in their ways;
8 The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. They have made crooked paths; whoever travels these paths does not know peace.
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.
9 Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness reach us. We wait for light, but see darkness; we look for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
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.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, like those who cannot see. We stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among the strong we are like dead men.
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.
11 We growl like bears and moan like doves; we wait for justice, but there is none; for rescue, but it is far from us.
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.
12 For our many transgressions are before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our sins.
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.
13 We have rebelled, denying Yahweh and turning away from following our God. We have spoken extortion and turning aside, conceived complaining from the heart and words of lying.
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.
14 Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, and right cannot come.
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].
15 Trustworthiness has gone away, and he who turns away from evil makes himself a victim. Yahweh saw it and was displeased that there was no justice.
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.
16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene. Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him, and his righteousness sustained him.
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.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head. He clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wore zeal as a mantle.
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,
18 He repaid them for what they had done, angry judgment to his adversaries, vengeance to his enemies, to the islands punishment as their reward.
as one about to render a recompence, [even] reproach to his adversaries.
19 So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west, and his glory from the sun's rising; for he will come as a rushing stream, driven by the breath of Yahweh.
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.
20 “A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And the deliverer shall come for Sion's sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them—says Yahweh—my spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or go out of the mouth of your children, or go out of the mouth of your children's children—says Yahweh—from this time and forever.”
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.
