Isaiah 59
Injustice Brings Alienation from God
59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak1 to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you.2
59:2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.3
59:3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
59:4 No one is concerned about justice;4
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words5 and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression6
and give birth to sin.
59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched.7
59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes.8
59:7 They are eager to do evil,9
quick to shed innocent blood.10
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy.11
59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust.12
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.13
Israel Confesses its Sin
59:9 For this reason deliverance14 is far from us15
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light,16 but see only darkness;17
we wait for18 a bright light,19 but live20 in deep darkness.21
59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see;22
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men.23
59:11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance,24 but there is none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,25
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well.26
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up27 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds.28
godliness29 stands far off.
Indeed,30 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
59:15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased,31
for there is no justice.
The Lord Intervenes
59:16 He sees there is no advocate;32
he is shocked33 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands;34
his desire for justice drives him on.35
59:17 He wears his desire for justice36 like body armor,37
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.38
He puts on the garments of vengeance39
and wears zeal like a robe.
59:18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies.40
He repays the coastlands.41
59:19 In the west, people respect42 the Lord’s reputation;43
in the east they recognize his splendor.44
For he comes like a rushing45 stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord.46
59:20 “A protector47 comes to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,”48 says the Lord.
59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to49 them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,”50 says the Lord.