Isaiah 59
59
Sin, confession and redemption
1Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4No-one calls for justice;
no-one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no-one who walks along them will know peace.
9So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
11We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12For our offences are many in your sight,
and our sins testify against us.
Our offences are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13rebellion and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,
uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
16He saw that there was no-one,
he was appalled that there was no-one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.
17He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18According to what they have done,
so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands their due.
19From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath of the Lord drives along.#59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
20‘The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,’
declares the Lord.
21‘As for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord. ‘My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants – from this time on and for ever,’ says the Lord.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 59
59
Sin and Redemption
1Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save,#Nm 11:23; Is 50:2; Jr 32:17
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
2But your iniquities#Is 13:11 are separating you
from your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you#Dt 31:17–18; 32:20; Is 50:6; Ezk 39:29; Mc 3:4
so that he does not listen.#Dt 3:26; 23:5; Jb 35:13; Is 1:15
3For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.#Jb 15:35; Ps 7:14; Is 33:11
5They hatch viper’s eggs
and weave spider’s webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7Their feet run after evil,#Rm 3:15–17
and they rush to shed innocent blood.#Pr 1:16; 6:17
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;#Mk 7:21–22
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8They have not known the path of peace,#Lk 1:79
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.#Is 57:20–21
9Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.#Dt 28:29; Jb 5:14
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.#Is 38:14; Ezk 7:16
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12For our transgressions have multiplied before you,#Ezr 9:6
and our sins testify against us.#Is 3:9; Jr 14:7; Hs 5:5
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:#Is 13:11
13transgression and deception against the Lord,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and he was offended.
16He saw that there was no man —
he was amazed that there was no one interceding;#Is 41:28; 63:5; Ezk 22:30
so his own arm brought salvation,
and his own righteousness supported him.
17He put on righteousness as body armor,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;#Eph 6:14,17; 1Th 5:8
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.#Is 9:7; 37:32; Zch 1:14
18So he will repay according to their deeds:#Jr 25:14; Rv 22:12
fury to his enemies,
retribution to his foes,
and he will repay the coasts and islands.
19They will fear the name of the Lord in the west
and his glory in the east;#59:19 Lit sunrise#Ps 113:3
for he will come like a rushing stream#Is 30:28; 66:12
driven by the wind of the Lord.
20“The Redeemer#Is 41:14; 43:14 will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”#Ezk 18:30–31; Rm 11:26–27
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21“As for me, this is my covenant with them,”#Jr 31:31–34 says the Lord: “My Spirit who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth,#Is 51:16 will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and forever,” says the Lord.
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