Isaiah 59
59
Injustice and Oppression to Be Punished
1See, the Lord's hand is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4No one brings suit justly,
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and begetting iniquity.
5They hatch adders' eggs,
and weave the spider's web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.
6Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.
9Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us;
we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness;
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10We grope like the blind along a wall,
groping like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among the vigorous#59.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain as though we were dead.
11We all growl like bears;
like doves we moan mournfully.
We wait for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12For our transgressions before you are many,
and our sins testify against us.
Our transgressions indeed are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning away from following our God,
talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.
14Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16He saw that there was no one,
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.
18According to their deeds, so will he repay;
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render requital.
19So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory;
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the Lord drives on.
20And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.
21And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children's children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 59: NRSV-CI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers