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The Consequence of Sin

59 Certainly, the hand of the Lord is not so short that it cannot save,
    nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation between
    you and your God,
and your sins have hidden His face from you
    so that He will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood
    and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
    your tongue has muttered perverseness.
No one calls for justice,
    nor does anyone plead for truth.
They trust in vanity and speak lies;
    they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.
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.
Their webs shall not become garments,
    nor shall they cover themselves with their works;
their works are works of iniquity,
    and an act of violence is in their hands.
Their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
    devastation and destruction are in their paths.
The way of peace they do not know,
    and there is no justice in their ways;
they have made their paths crooked;
    whoever walks in them does not know peace.

The Confession of Sin

Therefore, justice is far from us,
    nor does righteousness overtake us;
we wait for light, but there is darkness,
    for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
    and we grope as if we had no eyes;
we stumble at noonday as in the night;
    among those who are vigorous, we are as dead men.
11 We all roar like bears
    and mourn sadly like doves;
we look for justice, but there is none;
    for salvation, but it is far from us.

12 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 transgressing, and lying against the Lord,
    and departing away from our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned backward,
    and righteousness stands far off;
for truth is fallen in the street,
    and equity cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Redeemer of Zion

Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
    that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man
    and was astonished that there was no intercessor;
therefore, His own arm brought salvation to Him,
    and His righteousness sustained Him.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate
    and a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing
    and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds,
    accordingly He will repay:
fury to His adversaries,
    recompense to His enemies;
    to the islands He will make recompense.
19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west
    and His glory from the rising of the sun;
when the enemy shall come in like a flood,
    the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

20 The Redeemer shall come to Zion
    and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,
    says the Lord.

21 As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says the Lord: My Spirit who is upon 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 descendants, nor out of the mouth of your descendants’ descendants, says the Lord, from this time forth and forever.

Sin, Confession and Redemption

59 Surely the arm(A) of the Lord is not too short(B) to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear.(C)
But your iniquities have separated(D)
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.(E)
For your hands are stained with blood,(F)
    your fingers with guilt.(G)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(H)
    and your tongue mutters wicked things.
No one calls for justice;(I)
    no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(J) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(K)
    they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(L)
They hatch the eggs of vipers(M)
    and spin a spider’s web.(N)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
    and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
    they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(O)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
    and acts of violence(P) are in their hands.
Their feet rush into sin;
    they are swift to shed innocent blood.(Q)
They pursue evil schemes;(R)
    acts of violence mark their ways.(S)
The way of peace they do not know;(T)
    there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(U)
    no one who walks along them will know peace.(V)

So justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(W)
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(X) we grope along the wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(Y) as if it were twilight;
    among the strong, we are like the dead.(Z)
11 We all growl like bears;
    we moan mournfully like doves.(AA)
We look for justice, but find none;
    for deliverance, but it is far away.

12 For our offenses(AB) are many in your sight,
    and our sins testify(AC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
    and we acknowledge our iniquities:(AD)
13 rebellion(AE) and treachery against the Lord,
    turning our backs(AF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(AG)
    uttering lies(AH) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(AI) is driven back,
    and righteousness(AJ) stands at a distance;
truth(AK) has stumbled in the streets,
    honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(AL) is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    that there was no justice.(AM)
16 He saw that there was no one,(AN)
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(AO)
so his own arm achieved salvation(AP) for him,
    and his own righteousness(AQ) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(AR)
    and the helmet(AS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(AT) of vengeance(AU)
    and wrapped himself in zeal(AV) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
    so will he repay(AW)
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands(AX) their due.
19 From the west,(AY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun,(AZ) they will revere his glory.(BA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath(BB) of the Lord drives along.[a]

20 “The Redeemer(BC) will come to Zion,(BD)
    to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(BE)
declares the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant(BF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(BG) who is on you, will not depart from you,(BH) and my words that I have put in your mouth(BI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight