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
Social Injustice Is Condemned
1The Lord hasn't lost
his powerful strength;
he can still hear
and answer prayers.
2Your sins are the roadblock
between you and your God.
That's why he doesn't answer
your prayers
or let you see his face.
3Your talk is filled with lies
and plans for violence;
every finger on your hands
is covered with blood.
4You falsely accuse others
and tell lies in court;
sin and trouble are the names
of your children.
5You eat the deadly eggs
of poisonous snakes,
and more snakes crawl out
from the eggs left to hatch.
You weave spider webs,
6but you can't make clothes
with those webs
or hide behind them.
You're sinful and brutal.
7 #
Ro 3.15-17. You hurry off to do wrong
or murder innocent victims.
All you think about is sin;
you leave ruin and destruction
wherever you go.
8You don't know how
to live in peace
or to be fair with others.
The roads you make are crooked;
your followers cannot find peace.
The People Confess Their Sins
9No one has come to defend us
or to bring about justice.
We hoped for a day of sunshine,
but all we found
was a dark, gloomy night.
10We feel our way along,
as if we were blind;
we stumble at noon,
as if it were night.
We can see no better
than someone dead.#59.10 We can … dead: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
11We growl like bears
and mourn like doves.
We hope for justice and victory,
but they escape us.
12How often have we sinned
and turned against you,
the Lord God?
Our sins condemn us!
We have done wrong.
13We have rebelled and refused
to follow you.
Our hearts were deceitful,
and so we lied;
we planned to abuse others
and turn our backs on you.
14Injustice is everywhere;
justice seems far away.
Truth is chased out of court;
honesty is shoved aside.
15Everyone tells lies;
those who turn from crime
end up ruined.
The Lord Will Rescue His People
When the Lord noticed
that justice had disappeared,
he became very displeased.
16 #
Is 63.5. It disgusted him even more
to learn that no one
would do a thing about it.
So with his own powerful arm,
he won victories for truth.
17 #
Ws 5.17-23; Eph 6.14,17; 1 Th 5.8. Justice was the Lord's armor;
saving power was his helmet;
anger and revenge
were his clothes.
18Now the Lord will get furious
and do to his enemies,
both near and far,
what they did to his people.
19He will attack like a flood
in a mighty windstorm.
Nations in the west and the east
will then honor and praise
his wonderful name.
20 #
Ro 11.26. The Lord has promised to rescue
the city of Zion
and Jacob's descendants
who turn from sin.
21The Lord says: “My people,
I promise to give you my Spirit
and my message.
These will be my gifts to you
and your families forever.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.