Isaiah 59
1 Lo! the hoond of the Lord is not abreggid, that he mai not saue, nether his eere is maad hard, that he here not;
Behold, the Lord's hand is not too short to save; neither his ear too heavy for hearing;
2 but youre wickidnessis han departid bitwixe you and youre God, and youre synnes han hid his face fro you, that he schulde not here.
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.
3 For whi youre hondis ben defoulid with blood, and youre fyngris with wickidnesse; youre lippis spaken leesyng, and youre tunge spekith wickidnesse.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue uttereth deception.
4 Noon is, that clepith riytfulnesse to help, and noon is, that demeth verili; but thei tristen in nouyt, and speken vanytees; thei conseyueden trauel, and childiden wickidnesse.
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.
5 Thei han broke eiren of snakis, and maden webbis of an yreyn; he that etith of the eiren of hem, schal die, and that that is nurschid, ether brouyt forth, schal breke out in to a cocatrice.
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.
6 The webbis of hem schulen not be in to cloth, nethir thei schulen be hilid with her werkis; the werkis of hem ben vnprofitable werkis, and the werk of wickidnesse is in the hondis of hem.
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.
7 The feet of hem rennen to yuel, and haasten to schede out innocent blood; the thouytis of hem ben vnprofitable thouytis; distriyng and defouling ben in the weies of hem.
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.
8 Thei knewen not the weie of pees, and doom is not in the goyngis of hem; the pathis of hem ben bowid to hem; ech that tredith in tho, knowith not pees.
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.
9 Therfor doom is made fer fro vs, and riytfulnesse schal not take vs; we abididen liyt, and lo! derknessis ben; we abididen schynyng, and we yeden in derknessis.
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.
10 We gropiden as blynde men the wal, and we as with outen iyen touchiden; we stumbliden in myddai, as in derknessis, in derk places, as deed men.
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.
11 Alle we schulen rore as beeris, and we schulen weile thenkynge as culueris; we abididen doom, and noon is; we abididen helthe, and it is maad fer fro vs.
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.
12 For whi oure wickidnessis ben multiplied bifore thee, and oure synnes answeriden to vs; for our grete trespassis ben with vs, and we knewen oure wickidnessis,
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;
13 to do synne, and to lie ayens the Lord. And we ben turned awei, that we yeden not aftir the bak of oure God, that we speken fals caleng, and trespassyng. We conseyueden, and spaken of herte wordis of leesyng; and doom was turned abak,
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.
14 and riytfulnesse stood fer; for whi treuthe felle doun in the street, and equite miyt not entre.
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.
15 And treuthe was maad in to foryetyng, and he that yede awei fro yuel, was opyn to robbyng. And the Lord siy, and it apperide yuel in hise iyen, for ther is no doom.
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.
16 And God siy, that a man is not, and he was angwischid, for noon is that renneth to. And his arm schal saue to hym silf, and his riytfulnesse it silf schal conferme hym.
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.
17 He is clothid with riytfulnesse as with an harburioun, and the helm of helthe is in his heed; he is clothid with clothis of veniaunce, and he is hilid as with a mentil of feruent worchyng.
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.
18 As to veniaunce, as to yeldyng of indignacioun to hise enemyes, and to quityng of tyme to hise aduersaries, he schal yelde while to ylis.
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.
19 And thei that ben at the west, schulen drede the name of the Lord, and thei that ben at the risyng of the sunne, schulen drede the glorie of hym; whanne he schal come as a violent flood, whom the spirit of the Lord compellith.
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.
20 Whan ayen biere schal come to Syon, and to hem that goen ayen fro wickidnesse in Jacob, seith the Lord.
But unto Zion shall come the redeemer, and unto those who return from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
21 This is my boond of pees with hem, seith the Lord; My spirit which is in thee, and my wordis whiche Y haue set in thi mouth, schulen not go awei fro thi mouth, and fro the mouth of thi seed, seith the Lord, fro hennus forth and til into with outen ende.
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.
