Isaiah 59
59
Salvation Delayed
1#This poem brings together a lament of the postexilic community and a harsh word of judgment from the prophet. After the opening rhetorical question, each of the stanzas begins with a reference to the justice and right judgment which are lacking among the people (vv. 4, 9, 14). Toward the end of the poem, God is depicted as a Divine Warrior (vv. 16–20) who is the only one who can intervene in order to bring redemption. This same Divine Warrior imagery is repeated in a similar fashion in 63:1–6. No, the hand of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.#Is 50:2; Nm 11:23.
2Rather, it is your crimes
that separate you from your God,
It is your sins that make him hide his face
so that he does not hear you.
3For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with crime;
Your lips speak falsehood,
and your tongue utters deceit.#Is 1:15.
4No one brings suit justly,
no one pleads truthfully;
They trust an empty plea and tell lies;
they conceive mischief and bring forth malice.
5#The eggs signify evil works, doing positive harm; the webs are devices that serve no useful purpose. They hatch adders’ eggs,
and weave spiders’ webs:
Whoever eats the eggs will die,
if one of them is crushed, it will hatch a viper;#Jb 20:12–16.
6Their webs cannot serve as clothing,
nor can they cover themselves with their works.
Their works are evil works,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7Their feet run to evil,
and they hasten to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness,
violence and destruction are on their highways.#Prv 1:15, 19; 2:8–9, 12–13, 15, 18–19; Rom 3:15.
8The way of peace they know not,
and there is no justice on their paths;
Their roads they have made crooked,
no one who walks in them knows peace.
Acknowledgment of Transgressions
9#The turning point in the poem comes when the people acknowledge their transgressions and describe the horror of their present state. Light is a metaphor for salvation (cf. 9:1; 42:16; 60:1–3, 19–20) and darkness represents sin and disaster. That is why judgment is far from us
and justice does not reach us.
We look for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, and we walk in gloom!#Am 5:18–19.
10Like those who are blind we grope along the wall,
like people without eyes we feel our way.
We stumble at midday as if at twilight,
among the vigorous, we are like the dead.
11Like bears we all growl,
like doves we moan without ceasing.
We cry out for justice, but it is not there;
for salvation, but it is far from us.#Is 38:14.
12For our transgressions before you are many,
our sins bear witness against us.
Our transgressions are present to us,
and our crimes we acknowledge:
13Transgressing, and denying the Lord,
turning back from following our God,
Planning fraud and treachery,
uttering lying words conceived in the heart.
14Judgment is turned away,
and justice stands far off;
For truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.#Jb 28:28.
15Fidelity is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
Divine Intervention
The Lord saw this, and was aggrieved
that there was no justice.
16He saw that there was no one,
was appalled that there was none to intervene;
Then his own arm brought about the victory,
and his justice sustained him.
17He put on justice as his breastplate,
victory as a helmet on his head;
He clothed himself with garments of vengeance,
wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal.#Wis 5:17–20; Eph 6:14–16; 1 Thes 5:8.
18According to their deeds he repays his enemies
and requites his foes with wrath;
to the coastlands he renders recompense.
19Those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory,
Coming like a pent-up stream
driven on by the breath of the Lord.
20Then for Zion shall come a redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression—oracle of the Lord.#Is 35:4; Rom 11:26–27.
21#This verse makes the transition from chaps. 56–59 to chaps. 60–62. Oracles of judgment yield to oracles about God’s redemptive action. This is my covenant with them,
which I myself have made, says the Lord:
My spirit which is upon you
and my words that I have put in your mouth
Shall not depart from your mouth,
nor from the mouths of your children
Nor the mouths of your children’s children
from this time forth and forever, says the Lord.#Is 1:27.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 59
59
Separation from God
1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save,
Nor His ear so #Lit dull.impaired
That it cannot hear.
2But your wickedness has separated you from 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 wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing];
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
4No one sues righteously [but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage], and no one pleads [his case] in truth; [but rather]
They trust in empty arguments and speak lies;
They conceive trouble and bring forth injustice.
5They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s webs;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from an egg which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6Their webs will not serve as clothing,
Nor will they cover themselves with what they make;
Their works are works of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing],
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7Their feet run to evil,
And they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing];
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
8They do not know the way of peace,
And there is no justice in their tracks.
They have made them into crooked paths;
Whoever walks on them does not know peace.
A Confession of Wickedness
9Therefore justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us.
We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness;
We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.
10We grope for a wall like the blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are like dead men.
11We all groan and growl like bears,
And coo sadly like doves;
We hope for justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O Lord],
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]:
13Rebelling against and denying the Lord,
Turning away from [following] our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words.
14Justice is pushed back,
And righteous behavior stands far away;
For truth has fallen in the city square,
And #Lit straightforwardness.integrity cannot enter.
15Yes, truth is missing;
And he who turns away from evil makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw it,
And it #Lit was evil in His eyes.displeased Him that there was no justice.
16He saw that there was no man,
And was amazed that there was no one to intercede [on behalf of truth and right];
Therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His own righteousness sustained Him.
17For He [the Lord] put on righteousness like a coat of armor,
And salvation like a helmet on His head;
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak.
18As their deeds deserve, so He will repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, retribution to His enemies;
To the islands and coastlands He will repay.
19So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun.
For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream
Which the #Or Spirit.breath of the Lord drives [overwhelming the enemy].
20“A Redeemer (Messiah) will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob (Israel) who turn from transgression (sin),” declares the Lord.
21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you [writing the law of God on the heart], and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your [true, spiritual] #Lit seed.children, nor from the mouth of your children’s children,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
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