Isaiah 59
59
The LORD Will Turn His People from Wrongdoing
1The Lord is not too weak to save
or his ear too deaf to hear.
2But your wrongs have separated you from your God,
and your sins have made him hide his face
so that he doesn’t hear you.
3Your hands are stained with blood,
and your fingers are stained with sin.
You speak lies,
and you mutter wicked things.
4No one calls for justice,
and no one pleads his case truthfully.
People trust pointless arguments and speak lies.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5They hatch viper eggs
and weave spiderwebs.
Those who eat their eggs will die.
When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.
6Their webs can’t be used for clothes,
nor can they cover themselves with their works.
Their works are evil.
Their hands have committed acts of violence.
7Their feet run to do evil.
They hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their plans are evil.
Ruin and destruction are on their highways.
8They don’t know the way of peace.
There’s no justice on their highways.
They’ve made their paths crooked.
Whoever walks on them will never know peace.
9That is why justice is far from us,
and righteousness doesn’t reach us.
We hope for light, but we walk in darkness.
We hope for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10We grope like blind men along a wall.
We grope like people without eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
We are like dead people among healthy people.
11We all growl like bears.
We coo like doves.
We hope for justice, but there is none.
We hope for salvation, but it’s far from us.
12You are aware of our many rebellious acts.
Our sins testify against us.
Our rebellious acts are with us.
We know our wrongdoings.
13We have rebelled and denied the Lord.
We have turned away from our God.
We have spoken about oppression and revolt.
We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.
14Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away.
Truth has fallen in the street,
and honesty can’t come in.
15Truth is missing.
Those who turn away from evil make themselves victims.
The Lord sees it, and he’s angry
because there’s no justice.
16He sees that there’s no one to help.
He’s astounded that there’s no one to intercede.
So with his own power he wins a victory.
His righteousness supports him.
17He puts on righteousness like a coat of armor
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He wears clothes of vengeance.
He wraps himself with fury as a coat.
18He will pay them back according to their deeds.
He will pay back his opponents with wrath and punish his enemies.
He will pay back the people who live on the coastlands.
19The people of the west will fear the name of the Lord.
Those in the east will fear his glory.
He will come like a rushing stream.
The wind of the Lord pushes him.
20“Then a Savior will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from rebellion,” declares the Lord.
21“This is my promise #59:21 Or “covenant.” to them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I put in your mouth will not leave you. They will be with your children and your grandchildren permanently,” says the Lord.
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Isaiah 59: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 59
59
Injustice Brings Alienation from God
1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak#tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you.#tn Heb “or his ear too heavy [i.e., “dull”] to hear.”
2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.#tn Heb “and your sins have caused [his] face to be hidden from you so as not to hear.”
3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
4 No one is concerned about justice;#tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words#tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.” and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression#tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”
and give birth to sin.
5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched.#tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”
6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes.#tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”
7 They are eager to do evil,#tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
quick to shed innocent blood.#tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy.#tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”
8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust.#tn Heb “a way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their pathways.”
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.#tn Heb “their paths they make crooked, everyone who walks in it does not know peace.”
Israel Confesses its Sin
9 For this reason deliverance#tn מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which refers to “justice” in the earlier verses, here refers to “justice from God,” or “vindication.” Because the people are unjust, God refuses to vindicate them before their enemies. See v. 11. is far from us#sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light,#sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing. but see only darkness;#tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”
we wait for#tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). a bright light,#tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here. but live#tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.” in deep darkness.#tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.
10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see;#tn Heb “like there are no eyes.”
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men.#tn Heb among the strong, like dead men.”
11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance,#tn See the note at v. 9. but there is none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,#tn Heb “for many are our rebellious deeds before you.”
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well.#tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] our rebellious deeds (are) with us, and our sins, we know them.”
13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up#tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons. oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds.#tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
14 Justice is driven back;
godliness#tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.” stands far off.
Indeed,#tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV). honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased,#tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”
for there is no justice.
The Lord Intervenes
16 He sees there is no advocate;#tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
he is shocked#tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.” that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands;#tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
his desire for justice drives him on.#tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
17 He wears his desire for justice#tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.” like body armor,#tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.#tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”
He puts on the garments of vengeance#tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”
and wears zeal like a robe.
18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies.#tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”
He repays the coastlands.#tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).
19 In the west, people respect#tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.” the Lord’s reputation;#tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”
in the east they recognize his splendor.#tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”
For he comes like a rushing#tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.” stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord.#tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).
20 “A protector#tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14. comes to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,”#tn Heb “and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob.” says the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my promise to#tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”sn The Lord promises the repentant (note “to them”) that they and their offspring will possess his spirit and function as his spokesmen. In this regard they follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s special servant. See 42:1; 49:2; 51:16. them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,”#tn Heb “from now and on into the future.” says the Lord.
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