Isaiah 59

¹Truly, the Lord's hand has not become short, so that he is unable to give salvation; and his ear is not shut from hearing:

²But your sins have come between you and your God, and by your evil doings his face has been veiled from you, so that he will give you no answer.

³For your hands are unclean with blood, and your fingers with sin; your lips have said false things, and your tongue gives out deceit.

⁴No one puts forward an upright cause, or gives a true decision: their hope is in deceit, and their words are false; they are with child with sin, and give birth to evil.

⁵They give birth to snake's eggs, and make spider's threads: whoever takes their eggs for food comes to his death, and the egg which is crushed becomes a poison-snake.

⁶Their twisted threads will not make clothing, and their works will give them nothing for covering themselves: their works are works of sin, and violent acts are in their hands.

⁷Their feet go quickly to evil, and they take delight in the death of the upright; their thoughts are thoughts of sin; wasting and destruction are in their ways.

⁸They have no knowledge of the way of peace, and there is no sense of what is right in their behaviour: they have made for themselves ways which are not straight; whoever goes in them has no knowledge of peace.

⁹For this cause our right is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us: we are looking for light, but there is only the dark; for the shining of the sun, but our way is in the night.

¹⁰We go on our way, like blind men feeling for the wall, even like those who have no eyes: we are running against things in daylight as if it was evening; our place is in the dark like dead men.

¹¹We make noises of grief, like bears, and sad sounds like doves: we are looking for our right, but it is not there; for salvation, but it is far from us.

¹²For our evil doings are increased before you, and our sins give witness against us: for our evil doings are with us, and we have knowledge of our sins:

¹³We have gone against the Lord, and been false to him, turning away from our God, our words have been uncontrolled, and in our hearts are thoughts of deceit.

¹⁴And the right is turned back, and righteousness is far away: for good faith is not to be seen in the public places, and upright behaviour may not come into the town.

¹⁵Yes, faith is gone; and he whose heart is turned from evil comes into the power of the cruel: and the Lord saw it, and he was angry that there was no one to take up their cause.

¹⁶And he saw that there was no man, and was surprised that there was no one to take up their cause: so his arm gave salvation, and he made righteousness his support.

¹⁷Yes, he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and salvation as a head-dress; and he put on punishment as clothing, and wrath as a robe.

¹⁸He will give them the right reward of their doings, wrath to his attackers, punishment to his haters, and even on the sea-lands he will send punishment.

¹⁹So they will see the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the east: for he will come like a rushing stream, forced on by a wind of the Lord.

²⁰And as a saviour he will come to Zion, turning away sin from Jacob, says the Lord.

²¹And as for me, this is my agreement with them, says the Lord: my spirit which is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not go away from your mouth, or from the mouth of your seed, or from the mouth of your seed's seed, says the Lord, from now and for ever.

Isaiah 59

¹Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can't save; neither his ear heavy, that it can't hear:

²but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

³For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.

⁴None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

⁵They 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.

⁶Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

⁷Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths.

⁸The way of peace they do not know; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whoever goes therein does not know peace.

⁹Therefore is justice far from us, neither does righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

¹⁰We grope for the wall like the blind; yes, we grope as those who have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among those who are lusty we are as dead men.

¹¹We roar all like bears, and moan bitterly like doves: we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.

¹²For 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:

¹³transgressing and denying the Lord, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

¹⁴Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness can't enter.

¹⁵Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

¹⁶He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it upheld him.

¹⁷He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.

¹⁸According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense.

¹⁹So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the breath of the Lord drives.

²⁰"A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob," says the Lord.

²¹"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord. "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 seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed's seed," says the Lord, "from henceforth and forever."