Isaiah 59
59
Chapter 59
The Lord accuses his people
1Listen! The Lord's hand is not too weak to save you.
His ear is not too deaf to hear you.
2But the wrong things that you have done
have made you separate from your God.
Your sins have caused him to turn away from you,
so that he does not listen to your prayers.
3Your hands are dirty with the blood of murder.
They are dirty with all the bad things that you do.
Your mouth tells lies,
and it says wicked things about other people.
4When people accuse somebody in court,
the truth is not important.
They tell lies and they deceive the judge,
so that they will win.
They decide how they can cause trouble,
and then they do wicked things.
5Their thoughts are like the eggs of a snake.
If anyone eats those eggs, they will die!
When an egg breaks open,
a dangerous snake is born!
They like to catch people,
like a spider that makes a web. #59:5 A spider is small, like an insect. It uses very thin strings (threads) to make a web. It catches insects in the web for its food.
6Their webs are useless to make clothes.
They cannot cover themselves with them.
The things that they do are useless like that.
They do only wicked things.
They use their strength only to hurt people.
7They rush to do evil things.
They hurry to kill people who have not done anything wrong.
They think only about sin.
They only want to be cruel and to hurt people.
8They do not know how to live in peace.
They cannot be honest and fair.
Their way of life is all wrong.
Nobody who lives like that will have peace.
The people agree
9Because of that, God's justice is far away from us.
He has not come to save us.
We look for light to come to us,
but everything is dark.
We need some light in our lives,
but all we have is darkness.
10Like blind people,
we touch the wall to find our way.
It seems that we have no eyes to see with.
Even at midday, we trip and we fall down,
as if it was dark.
We are like dead people
who live among strong people.
11We all make a noise, like hungry bears.
We make sad noises, like doves.
We are waiting for God to bring justice to us,
but nothing is happening.
We look for his salvation,
but it is still far away.
12 Lord, you see all the bad things that we have done.
Our many sins show that we are wrong.
We know about the wrong things that we have done.
We agree that our sins are many.
13We have turned against the Lord.
We have refused to obey him.
We have chosen to be cruel to other people,
and we have turned against the truth.
We think about the lies that we can tell,
and we use them to deceive people.
14 Judges do not decide in a fair way.
Nobody tries to do what is right.
There is no place for truth on the streets of our towns.
Honest people have to leave.
15Nobody can speak the truth.
If anyone tries to stop doing evil things,
other people will attack him.
The Lord comes to save his people
The Lord saw how his people were living.
He saw that there was no justice.
It made him very sad.
16He saw that there was nobody who would help,
and he was very upset.
So he used his own strength to help.
Because he had to do what was right,
he made his people safe.
17He always does what is right,
like a soldier who always puts on his armour.
His power to save people
is like the helmet that he wears.
He is angry against people who do evil things,
and he works hard to punish them.
That is like the clothes that he wears.
18He will punish his enemies
for the bad things that they have done.
He will be very angry with them.
He will punish all his enemies,
even those who live in lands far away.
19Then people who live in the west
will respect the Lord's name.
And people who live in the east
will see how great he is.
The Lord will attack them like a fast river.
He will blow them away with a strong wind.
20The Lord says,
‘A Redeemer will come to Zion.
He will come to save Jacob's people
who turn away from their sins.’
21The Lord says, ‘This is the covenant that I make with those people. My Spirit is now with you, and he will not leave you. I have put my words into your mouth, and they will always be with you. They will continue to be in the mouths of your children, and your descendants for ever.’
That is what the Lord says.
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MissionAssist 2018
Isaiah 59
59
Rampant Transgression
1Look! The hand of Yahweh is not too short to save,#Literally “from saving”
and his ear is not too dull to hear.#Literally “from hearing”
2Rather, your iniquities have been barriers#Literally “dividers” between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you, from hearing.
3For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity.
Your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue speaks wickedness.
4There is nobody who pleads with#Literally “calling in” justice,
and there is nobody who judges with honesty.
They rely on nothing
and speak vanity.
They conceive trouble
and beget iniquity;
5they hatch viper eggs,
and they weave a spider web.
One who eats their eggs dies,
and that which is pressed is hatched as a serpent.
6Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds#Hebrew “deed” of violence are in their hands.
7Their feet run to evil,
and they hasten to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
devastation and destruction are in their highways.
8They do not know the way of peace,
and there is no justice in their firm paths.
They have made their paths crooked for themselves;
everyone who walks#Literally “walking” in it knows no peace.
9Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We wait for light, but#Or “and” look! there is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10We grope like the blind along a wall,
and we grope as without#Literally “like there are no” eyes.
We stumble at noon as in the twilight;
among the strong we are like the dead.
11We all groan like bears,
and we coo mutteringly like doves.
We wait for justice, but#Or “and” there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12For our transgressions are numerous before you,
and our sins testify#Or “answers” against us.
Indeed, our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13transgressing and denying Yahweh,
and turning away from following#Literally “back from behind” our God;
speaking oppression and falsehood,
conceiving and uttering words of deception from the heart.
14And justice is pushed back,
and righteousness stands afar;
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and straightforwardness is unable to enter,
15and truth is missing,
and he who turns aside from evil is plundered.
And Yahweh saw,
and it was displeasing in his eyes that there was no justice
16And he saw that there was no man,
and he was appalled that there was no one who intercedes,
so#Or “and” his arm came to assist him,
and his righteousness was what#Literally “it” sustained him.
17And he put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head,
and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a robe.
18According to deeds, so he will repay;
wrath to his enemies, requital to those who are his enemies.#Literally “hostile”
He will repay requital to the coastlands.
19So#Or “And” they shall fear the name of Yahweh from the west,
and his glory from the sunrise,
for he will come like a narrow stream;
the wind of Yahweh drives it on.
20“And a redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn away from transgression,”
declares#Literally “declaration of” Yahweh.
21“And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh:
my spirit that is upon you,
and my words that I have placed in your mouth
shall not depart from your mouth,
or#Or “and” from the mouths#Hebrew “mouth” of your children,#Literally “offspring”
or#Or “and” from the mouths#Hebrew “mouth” of your children’s children,”#Literally “the offspring of your offspring”
says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”
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