Isaiah 59
1 Lo, the hand of Jehovah Hath not been shortened from saving, Nor heavy his ear from hearing.
Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have been separating Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden The Presence from you — from hearing.
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.
3 For your hands have been polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue perverseness doth mutter.
For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin. Your lips speak lies and your tongue speaks maliciously.
4 There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.
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.
5 Eggs of a viper they have hatched, And webs of a spider they weave, Whoso is eating their eggs doth die, And the crushed hatcheth a viper.
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.
6 Their webs become not a garment, Nor do they cover themselves with their works, Their works [are] works of iniquity, And a deed of violence [is] in their hands.
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.
7 Their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed innocent blood, Their thoughts [are] thoughts of iniquity, Spoiling and destruction [are] in their highways.
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.
8 A way of peace they have not known, And there is no judgment in their paths, Their paths they have made perverse for themselves, No treader in it hath known peace.
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.
9 Therefore hath judgment been far from us, And righteousness reacheth us not, We wait for light, and lo, darkness, For brightness — in thick darkness we go,
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.
10 We feel like the blind [for] the wall, Yea, as without eyes we feel, We have stumbled at noon as at twilight, In desolate places as the dead.
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.
11 We make a noise as bears — all of us, And as doves we coo sorely; We wait for judgment, and there is none, For salvation — it hath been far from us.
We growl like bears and moan like doves; we wait for justice, but there is none; for rescue, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have been multiplied before Thee, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions [are] with us, And our iniquities — we have known them.
For our many transgressions are before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our sins.
13 Transgressing, and lying against Jehovah, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostasy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.
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.
14 And removed backward is judgment, And righteousness afar off standeth, For truth hath been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,
Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, and right cannot come.
15 And the truth is lacking, And whoso is turning aside from evil, Is making himself a spoil. And Jehovah seeth, and it is evil in His eyes, That there is no judgment.
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.
16 And He seeth that there is no man, And is astonished that there is no intercessor, And His own arm giveth salvation to Him, And His righteousness — it sustained Him.
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.
17 And He putteth on righteousness as a breastplate, And an helmet of salvation on His head, And He putteth on garments of vengeance [for] clothing, And is covered, as [with] an upper-robe, [with] zeal.
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.
18 According to deeds — so He repayeth. Fury to His adversaries, [their] deed to His enemies, To the isles [their] deed He repayeth.
He repaid them for what they had done, angry judgment to his adversaries, vengeance to his enemies, to the islands punishment as their reward.
19 And they fear from the west the name of Jehovah, And from the rising of the sun — His honour, When come in as a flood doth an adversary, The Spirit of Jehovah hath raised an ensign against him.
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.
20 And come to Zion hath a redeemer, Even to captives of transgression in Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.
“A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—this is Yahweh's declaration.
21 And I — this [is] My covenant with them, said Jehovah, My Spirit that [is] on thee, And My words that I have put in thy mouth, Depart not from thy mouth, And from the mouth of thy seed, And from the mouth of thy seed's seed, said Jehovah, From henceforth unto the age!
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.”
