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The Lord Will Turn His People from Wrongdoing

59 Yahweh is not too weak to save
    or his ear too deaf to hear.
But your wrongs have separated you from your Elohim,
    and your sins have made him hide his face
        so that he doesn’t hear you.
Your hands are stained with blood,
    and your fingers are stained with sin.
    You speak lies,
    and you mutter wicked things.
No one calls for justice,
    and no one pleads his case truthfully.
    People trust pointless arguments and speak lies.
    They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
They hatch viper eggs
    and weave spiderwebs.
        Those who eat their eggs will die.
            When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.
Their webs can’t be used for clothes,
    nor can they cover themselves with their works.
    Their works are evil.
    Their hands have committed acts of violence.
Their feet run to do evil.
    They hurry to shed innocent blood.
    Their plans are evil.
    Ruin and destruction are on their highways.
They don’t know the way of peace.
    There’s no justice on their highways.
    They’ve made their paths crooked.
    Whoever walks on them will never know peace.

That is why justice is far from us,
    and righteousness doesn’t reach us.
    We hope for light, but we walk in darkness.
    We hope for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope like blind men along a wall.
    We grope like people without eyes.
    We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
    We are like dead people among healthy people.
11 We all growl like bears.
    We coo like doves.
    We hope for justice, but there is none.
    We hope for salvation, but it’s far from us.

12 You are aware of our many rebellious acts.
    Our sins testify against us.
        Our rebellious acts are with us.
    We know our wrongdoings.
13 We have rebelled and denied Yahweh.
    We have turned away from our Elohim.
    We have spoken about oppression and revolt.
    We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.
14 Justice is turned back,
    and righteousness stands far away.
    Truth has fallen in the street,
        and honesty can’t come in.
15 Truth is missing.
    Those who turn away from evil make themselves victims.

Yahweh sees it, and he’s angry
    because there’s no justice.
16 He sees that there’s no one to help.
    He’s astounded that there’s no one to intercede.
    So with his own power he wins a victory.
    His righteousness supports him.
17 He puts on righteousness like a coat of armor
    and a helmet of salvation on his head.
    He wears clothes of vengeance.
    He wraps himself with fury as a coat.
18 He will pay them back according to their deeds.
    He will pay back his opponents with wrath and punish his enemies.
    He will pay back the people who live on the coastlands.
19 The people of the west will fear the name of Yahweh.
    Those in the east will fear his glory.
    He will come like a rushing stream.
    The wind of Yahweh pushes him.

20 “Then a Go’el will come to Zion,
    to those in Jacob who turn from rebellion,” declares Yahweh.

21 “This is my promise[a] to them,” says Yahweh. “My Ruach, who is on you, and my words that I put in your mouth will not leave you. They will be with your children and your grandchildren permanently,” says Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:21 Or “covenant.”

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