Isaiah 59
1 Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.
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].
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.
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.
3 For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin. Your lips speak lies and your tongue speaks maliciously.
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].
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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 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.
14 Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, and right cannot come.
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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].
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.
[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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
20 “A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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).
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.”
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.”
