Isaiæ 59
1 [Ecce non est abbreviata manus Domini, ut salvare nequeat, neque aggravata est auris ejus, ut non exaudiat.
Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.
2 Sed iniquitates vestræ diviserunt inter vos et Deum vestrum; et peccata vestra absconderunt faciem ejus a vobis, ne exaudiret.
But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 Manus enim vestræ pollutæ sunt sanguine, et digiti vestri iniquitate; labia vestra locuta sunt mendacium, et lingua vestra iniquitatem fatur.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 Non est qui invocet justitiam, neque est qui judicet vere: sed confidunt in nihilo, et loquuntur vanitates; conceperunt laborem, et pepererunt iniquitatem.
No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 Ova aspidum ruperunt, et telas araneæ texuerunt. Qui comederit de ovis eorum, morietur; et quod confotum est, erumpet in regulum.
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
6 Telæ eorum non erunt in vestimentum, neque operientur operibus suis; opera eorum opera inutilia, et opus iniquitatis in manibus eorum.
Their webs won’t become garments. They won’t cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Pedes eorum ad malum currunt, et festinant ut effundant sanguinem innocentem; cogitationes eorum cogitationes inutiles: vastitas et contritio in viis eorum.
Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Desolation and destruction are in their paths.
8 Viam pacis nescierunt, et non est judicium in gressibus eorum; semitæ eorum incurvatæ sunt eis: omnis qui calcat in eis, ignorat pacem.
They don’t know the way of peace; and there is no justice in their ways. They have made crooked paths for themselves; whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace.
9 Propter hoc elongatum est judicium a nobis, et non apprehendet nos justitia. Exspectavimus lucem, et ecce tenebræ; splendorem, et in tenebris ambulavimus.
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness doesn’t overtake us. We look for light, but see darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
10 Palpavimus sicut cæci parietem, et quasi absque oculis attrectavimus: impegimus meridie quasi in tenebris; in caliginosis quasi mortui.
We grope for the wall like the blind. Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.
11 Rugiemus quasi ursi omnes, et quasi columbæ meditantes gememus: exspectavimus judicium, et non est; salutem, et elongata est a nobis.
We all roar like bears and moan sadly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far off from us.
12 Multiplicatæ sunt enim iniquitates nostræ coram te, et peccata nostra responderunt nobis, quia scelera nostra nobiscum et iniquitates nostras cognovimus.
For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 Peccare et mentiri contra Dominum, et aversi sumus ne iremus post tergum Dei nostri, ut loqueremur calumniam et transgressionem; concepimus et locuti sumus de corde verba mendacii.
transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Et conversum est retrorsum judicium, et justitia longe stetit, quia corruit in platea veritas, et æquitas non potuit ingredi.
Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter.
15 Et facta est veritas in oblivionem, et qui recessit a malo, prædæ patuit. Et vidit Dominus, et malum apparuit in oculis ejus, quia non est judicium.
Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.
16 Et vidit quia non est vir, et aporiatus est, quia non est qui occurrat; et salvavit sibi brachium suum, et justitia ejus ipsa confirmavit eum.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness sustained him.
17 Indutus est justitia ut lorica, et galea salutis in capite ejus; indutus est vestimentis ultionis, et opertus est quasi pallio zeli:
He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.
18 sicut ad vindictam quasi ad retributionem indignationis hostibus suis, et vicissitudinem inimicis suis; insulis vicem reddet.
According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate: wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. He will repay the islands their due.
19 Et timebunt qui ab occidente nomen Domini, et qui ab ortu solis gloriam ejus, cum venerit quasi fluvius violentus quem spiritus Domini cogit;
So they will fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which Yahweh’s breath drives.
20 et venerit Sion redemptor, et eis qui redeunt ab iniquitate in Jacob, dicit Dominus.
“A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh.
21 Hoc fœdus meum cum eis, dicit Dominus: spiritus meus qui est in te, et verba mea quæ posui in ore tuo, non recedent de ore tuo, et de ore seminis tui, et de ore seminis seminis tui, dicit Dominus, amodo et usque in sempiternum.]
“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”
