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Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New International Version
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New International Version
15 For this is what the high and exalted(A) One says—
he who lives forever,(B) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(C) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(D) and lowly in spirit,(E)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(F)
16 I will not accuse(G) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(H)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(I) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(J)
I punished them, and hid(K) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(L)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(M) them;
I will guide(N) them and restore comfort(O) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(P)
Peace, peace,(Q) to those far and near,”(R)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(S) are like the tossing sea,(T)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(U) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(V) says my God, “for the wicked.”(W)
True Fasting
58 “Shout it aloud,(X) do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.(Y)
Declare to my people their rebellion(Z)
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(AA)
2 For day after day they seek(AB) me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken(AC) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near(AD) them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(AE) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(AF) ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’(AG)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(AH)
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(AI)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(AJ) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(AK) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(AL) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(AM)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(AN)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting(AO) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(AP)
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(AQ) free
and break every yoke?(AR)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry(AS)
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(AT)—
when you see the naked, to clothe(AU) them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(AV)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(AW)
and your healing(AX) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a](AY) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(AZ)
9 Then you will call,(BA) and the Lord will answer;(BB)
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger(BC) and malicious talk,(BD)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(BE)
then your light(BF) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(BG)
11 The Lord will guide(BH) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(BI) in a sun-scorched land(BJ)
and will strengthen(BK) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(BL)
like a spring(BM) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(BN)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(BO)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(BP)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(BQ)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(BR)
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,(BS)
14 then you will find your joy(BT) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(BU) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(BV) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(BW)
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(BX) of the Lord is not too short(BY) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(BZ)
2 But your iniquities have separated(CA)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(CB)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(CC)
your fingers with guilt.(CD)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(CE)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(CF)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(CG) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(CH)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(CI)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(CJ)
and spin a spider’s web.(CK)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(CL)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(CM) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(CN)
They pursue evil schemes;(CO)
acts of violence mark their ways.(CP)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(CQ)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(CR)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(CS)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(CT)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(CU) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(CV) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(CW)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(CX)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(CY) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(CZ) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(DA)
13 rebellion(DB) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(DC) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(DD)
uttering lies(DE) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(DF) is driven back,
and righteousness(DG) stands at a distance;
truth(DH) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(DI) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(DJ)
16 He saw that there was no one,(DK)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(DL)
so his own arm achieved salvation(DM) for him,
and his own righteousness(DN) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(DO)
and the helmet(DP) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(DQ) of vengeance(DR)
and wrapped himself in zeal(DS) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(DT)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(DU) their due.
19 From the west,(DV) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(DW) they will revere his glory.(DX)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(DY) of the Lord drives along.[b]
20 “The Redeemer(DZ) will come to Zion,(EA)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(EB)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(EC) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(ED) who is on you, will not depart from you,(EE) and my words that I have put in your mouth(EF) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New King James Version
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New King James Version
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, (A)whose name is Holy:
(B)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
(C)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
(D)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 (E)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls (F)which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of (G)his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
(H)I hid and was angry,
(I)And he went on [a]backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and (J)will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to (K)his mourners.
19 “I create (L)the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace (M)to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20 (N)But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “There(O) is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Fasting that Pleases God
58 “Cry aloud, [b]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(P)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 ‘Why(Q) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (R)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [c]exploit all your laborers.
4 (S)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is (T)it a fast that I have chosen,
(U)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (V)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (W)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(X)To undo the [d]heavy burdens,
(Y)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not (Z)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [e]cast out;
(AA)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (AB)your own flesh?
8 (AC)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
(AD)The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The [f]pointing of the finger, and (AE)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [g]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
(AF)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of [h]Streets to Dwell In.
13 “If (AG)you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 (AH)Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to (AI)ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
(AJ)The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Separated from God
59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not (AK)shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will (AL)not hear.
3 For (AM)your hands are defiled with [i]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in (AN)empty words and speak lies;
(AO)They conceive [j]evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 (AP)Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 (AQ)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed (AR)innocent blood;
(AS)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and (AT)destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of (AU)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
(AV)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
(AW)We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 (AX)We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears,
And (AY)moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (AZ)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering (BA)from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a (BB)prey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the Lord saw it, and [k]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 (BC)He saw that there was no man,
And (BD)wondered that there was no intercessor;
(BE)Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 (BF)For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 (BG)According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 (BH)So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in (BI)like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
20 “The(BJ) Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
21 “As(BK) for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:17 Or turning back
- Isaiah 58:1 do not hold back
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
- Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
- Isaiah 58:7 wandering
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit. sending out of
- Isaiah 58:10 Or gloom
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit. Paths
- Isaiah 59:3 bloodshed
- Isaiah 59:4 trouble
- Isaiah 59:15 Lit. it was evil in His eyes
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New American Standard Bible
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New American Standard Bible
15 For this is what the (A)high and exalted One
Who [a](B)lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I (C)dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the (D)contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to (E)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will (F)not contend forever,
(G)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the (H)breath of those whom I have made.
17 Because of the wrongful act of his (I)unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on (J)turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will (K)heal him;
I will (L)lead him and (M)restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the [b](N)praise of the lips.
(O)Peace, peace to him who is (P)far away and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the (Q)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “(R)There is no peace,” says (S)my God, “for the wicked.”
Observances of Fasts
58 “(T)Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their (U)wrongdoing,
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they (V)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done (W)righteousness
And (X)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight (Y)in the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we (Z)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not [c]notice?’
Behold, on the (AA)day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast for contention and (AB)strife, and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you have done today to (AC)make your voice heard on high!
5 Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it for bowing [d]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out (AD)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an (AE)acceptable day to the Lord?
6 Is this not the fast that I choose:
To (AF)release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to (AG)let the oppressed go free,
And (AH)break every yoke?
7 Is it not to (AI)break your bread [e]with the hungry
And (AJ)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the (AK)naked, to cover him;
And not to (AL)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your (AM)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (AN)recovery will spring up quickly;
And your (AO)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the (AP)Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will (AQ)call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you (AR)remove the yoke from your midst,
The [f](AS)pointing of the finger and (AT)speaking wickedness,
10 And if you (AU)offer yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the [g]need of the afflicted,
Then your (AV)light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 And the (AW)Lord will continually guide you,
And (AX)satisfy your [h]desire in scorched places,
And (AY)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a (AZ)watered garden,
And like a (BA)spring of water whose waters do not [i]fail.
12 Those from among you will (BB)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will (BC)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the (BD)breach,
The restorer of the [j]streets in which to dwell.
Keeping the Sabbath
13 “If, because of the Sabbath, you (BE)restrain your foot
From doing as you wish on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a (BF)pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your (BG)own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And (BH)speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take (BI)delight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride (BJ)on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the (BK)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Separation from God
59 Behold, (BL)the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
(BM)Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
2 But your (BN)wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His [k]face from you so that He does (BO)not hear.
3 For your (BP)hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with wrongdoing;
Your lips have spoken (BQ)deceit,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 (BR)No one sues righteously and (BS)no one pleads [l]honestly.
They (BT)trust in confusion and speak lies;
They (BU)conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and (BV)weave the spider’s web;
The one who eats of their eggs dies,
And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.
6 Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they (BW)cover themselves with their works;
Their (BX)works are works of wrongdoing,
And an (BY)act of violence is in their [m]hands.
7 (BZ)Their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed innocent blood;
(CA)Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing,
Devastation and destruction are in their paths.
8 They do not know the (CB)way of peace,
And there is (CC)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
(CD)Whoever walks on [n]them does not know peace.
A Confession of Wickedness
9 Therefore (CE)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not reach us;
We (CF)hope for light, but there is darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We (CG)grope for the wall like people who are blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We (CH)stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are (CI)like the dead.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (CJ)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (CK)justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (CL)wrongful acts have multiplied before You,
And our (CM)sins have testified against us;
For our wrongful acts are with us,
And [o]we know our wrongdoings:
13 [p]Offending and (CN)denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking (CO)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and (CP)uttering lying words from the heart.
14 (CQ)Justice is turned back,
And (CR)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
And one who turns aside from evil (CS)makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was [q]displeasing in His sight (CT)that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was (CU)no one,
And was amazed that there was not one to intercede;
Then His (CV)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on (CW)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a (CX)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on (CY)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with (CZ)zeal as a cloak.
18 (DA)According to their deeds, [r]so will He repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, [s]retribution to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will [t]deal [u]retribution.
19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the (DB)west
And His glory from the (DC)rising of the sun,
For He will (DD)come like a [v]rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 “A (DE)Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob who (DF)turn from wrongdoing,” declares the Lord.
21 “As for Me, this is My (DG)covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My (DH)Spirit who is upon you, and My (DI)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your [w]offspring, nor from the mouth of your [x]offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:15 Or dwells in eternity
- Isaiah 57:19 Lit fruit of the lips
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit know
- Isaiah 58:5 Lit his
- Isaiah 58:7 Lit for
- Isaiah 58:9 I.e., an abusive gesture
- Isaiah 58:10 Or soul
- Isaiah 58:11 Or soul
- Isaiah 58:11 Or deceive
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit paths
- Isaiah 59:2 As in ancient versions; MT faces
- Isaiah 59:4 Lit in truth
- Isaiah 59:6 Lit palms
- Isaiah 59:8 Lit it
- Isaiah 59:12 Lit our wrongdoings we know them
- Isaiah 59:13 Or Revolting against and
- Isaiah 59:15 Or evil
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit accordingly
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit requital
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit repay
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit requital
- Isaiah 59:19 Lit narrow
- Isaiah 59:21 Lit seed
- Isaiah 59:21 Lit seed
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New Living Translation
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
New Living Translation
15 The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
16 For I will not fight against you forever;
I will not always be angry.
If I were, all people would pass away—
all the souls I have made.
17 I was angry,
so I punished these greedy people.
I withdrew from them,
but they kept going on their own stubborn way.
18 I have seen what they do,
but I will heal them anyway!
I will lead them.
I will comfort those who mourn,
19 bringing words of praise to their lips.
May they have abundant peace, both near and far,”
says the Lord, who heals them.
20 “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,
which is never still
but continually churns up mud and dirt.
21 There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.
True and False Worship
58 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel[a] of their sins!
2 Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond.
“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting
when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please the Lord?
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.
13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Warnings against Sin
59 Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.
3 Your hands are the hands of murderers,
and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
and your mouth spews corruption.
4 No one cares about being fair and honest.
The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
and then give birth to sin.
5 They hatch deadly snakes
and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
6 Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
and violence is their trademark.
7 Their feet run to do evil,
and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
Misery and destruction always follow them.
8 They don’t know where to find peace
or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.
9 So there is no justice among us,
and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
we are like the dead.
11 We growl like hungry bears;
we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
12 For our sins are piled up before God
and testify against us.
Yes, we know what sinners we are.
13 We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
carefully planning our deceitful lies.
14 Our courts oppose the righteous,
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
15 Yes, truth is gone,
and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.
The Lord looked and was displeased
to find there was no justice.
16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened
to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
and his justice sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his body armor
and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance
and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.
18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds.
His fury will fall on his foes.
He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.
19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord;
in the east, they will glorify him.
For he will come like a raging flood tide
driven by the breath of the Lord.[b]
20 “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem
to buy back those in Israel
who have turned from their sins,”[c]
says the Lord.
21 “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Footnotes
- 58:1 Hebrew Jacob. See note on 14:1.
- 59:19 Or When the enemy comes like a raging flood tide, / the Spirit of the Lord will drive him back.
- 59:20 Hebrew The Redeemer will come to Zion / to buy back those in Jacob / who have turned from their sins. Greek version reads The one who rescues will come on behalf of Zion, / and he will turn Jacob away from ungodliness. Compare Rom 11:26.
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
The Message
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
The Message
15-21 A Message from the high and towering God,
who lives in Eternity,
whose name is Holy:
“I live in the high and holy places,
but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed,
And what I do is put new spirit in them,
get them up and on their feet again.
For I’m not going to haul people into court endlessly,
I’m not going to be angry forever.
Otherwise, people would lose heart.
These souls I created would tire out and give up.
I was angry, good and angry, because of Israel’s sins.
I struck him hard and turned away in anger,
while he kept at his stubborn, willful ways.
When I looked again and saw what he was doing,
I decided to heal him, lead him, and comfort him,
creating a new language of praise for the mourners.
Peace to the far-off, peace to the near-at-hand,” says God—
“and yes, I will heal them.
But the wicked are storm-battered seas
that can’t quiet down.
The waves stir up garbage and mud.
There’s no peace,” God says, “for the wicked.”
Your Prayers Won’t Get Off the Ground
58 1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout!
Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They’re busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’
3-5 “Well, here’s why:
“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won’t get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?
6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places
9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.
13-14 “If you watch your step on the Sabbath
and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
God’s holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’
making money, running here and there—
Then you’ll be free to enjoy God!
Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.”
Yes! God says so!
We Long for Light but Sink into Darkness
59 1-8 Look! Listen!
God’s arm is not amputated—he can still save.
God’s ears are not stopped up—he can still hear.
There’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.
Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God.
Your sins got between you so that he doesn’t hear.
Your hands are drenched in blood,
your fingers dripping with guilt,
Your lips smeared with lies,
your tongue swollen from muttering obscenities.
No one speaks up for the right,
no one deals fairly.
They trust in illusion, they tell lies,
they get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies.
They hatch snake eggs and weave spider webs.
Eat an egg and die; break an egg and get a snake!
The spider webs are no good for shirts or shawls.
No one can wear these weavings!
They weave wickedness,
they hatch violence.
They compete in the race to do evil
and run to be the first to murder.
They plan and plot evil, think and breathe evil,
and leave a trail of wrecked lives behind them.
They know nothing about peace
and less than nothing about justice.
They make tortuously twisted roads.
No peace for the wretch who walks down those roads!
9-11 Which means that we’re a far cry from fair dealing,
and we’re not even close to right living.
We long for light but sink into darkness,
long for brightness but stumble through the night.
Like the blind, we inch along a wall,
groping eyeless in the dark.
We shuffle our way in broad daylight,
like the dead, but somehow walking.
We’re no better off than bears, groaning,
and no worse off than doves, moaning.
We look for justice—not a sign of it;
for salvation—not so much as a hint.
12-15 Our wrongdoings pile up before you, God,
our sins stand up and accuse us.
Our wrongdoings stare us down;
we know in detail what we’ve done:
Mocking and denying God,
not following our God,
Spreading false rumors, whipping up revolt,
pregnant with lies, muttering malice.
Justice is beaten back,
Righteousness is banished to the sidelines,
Truth staggers down the street,
Honesty is nowhere to be found,
Good is missing in action.
Anyone renouncing evil is beaten and robbed.
15-19 God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon—
so much evil and no sign of Justice.
He couldn’t believe what he saw:
not a soul around to correct this awful situation.
So he did it himself, took on the work of Salvation,
fueled by his own Righteousness.
He dressed in Righteousness, put it on like a suit of armor,
with Salvation on his head like a helmet,
Put on Judgment like an overcoat,
and threw a cloak of Passion across his shoulders.
He’ll make everyone pay for what they’ve done:
fury for his foes, just deserts for his enemies.
Even the far-off islands will get paid off in full.
In the west they’ll fear the name of God,
in the east they’ll fear the glory of God,
For he’ll arrive like a river in flood stage,
whipped to a torrent by the wind of God.
20 “I’ll arrive in Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who leave their sins.”
God’s Decree.
21 “As for me,” God says, “this is my covenant with them: My Spirit that I’ve placed upon you and the words that I’ve given you to speak, they’re not going to leave your mouths nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your grandchildren. You will keep repeating these words and won’t ever stop.” God’s orders.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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