Isaiah 59

Separation from God

1Behold, 1the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; 2Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.2But your 3iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His 4face from you so that He does 5not hear.3For your 6hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken 7falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness.48No one sues righteously and 9no one pleads 10honestly. They 11trust in confusion and speak lies; They 12conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.5They hatch adders’ eggs and 13weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.6Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they 14cover themselves with their works; Their 15works are works of iniquity, And an 16act of violence is in their 17hands.718Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; 19Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways.8They do not know the 20way of peace, And there is 21no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, 22Whoever treads on 23them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness

9Therefore 24justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We 25hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.10We 26grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We 27stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are 28like dead men.11All of us growl like bears, And 29moan sadly like doves; We hope for 30justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us.12For our 31transgressions are multiplied before You, And our 32sins 33testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And 34we know our iniquities:13Transgressing and 35denying the Lord, And turning away from our God, Speaking 36oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and 37uttering from the heart lying words.1438Justice is turned back, And 39righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter.15Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil 40makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, And it was 41displeasing in His sight 42that there was no justice.16And He saw that there was 43no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His 44own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him.17He put on 45righteousness like a breastplate, And a 46helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on 47garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with 48zeal as a mantle.1849According to their 50deeds, 51so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will 52make recompense.19So they will fear the name of the Lord from the 53west And His glory from the 54rising of the sun, For He will 55come like a 56rushing stream Which the wind of the Lord drives.20“A 57Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who 58turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.

21“As for Me, this is My 59covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My 60Spirit which is upon you, and My 61words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your 62offspring, nor from the mouth of your 63offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”