Isaiah 59

New International Version

Sin, Confession and Redemption

59 Surely the arm^(A) of the Lord is not too short^(B) to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear.^(C)
²But your iniquities have separated^(D)
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.^(E)
³For your hands are stained with blood,^(F)
    your fingers with guilt.^(G)
Your lips have spoken falsely,^(H)
    and your tongue mutters wicked things.
⁴No one calls for justice;^(I)
    no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely^(J) on empty arguments, they utter lies;^(K)
    they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.^(L)
⁵They hatch the eggs of vipers^(M)
    and spin a spider’s web.^(N)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
    and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
⁶Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
    they cannot cover themselves with what they make.^(O)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
    and acts of violence^(P) are in their hands.
⁷Their feet rush into sin;
    they are swift to shed innocent blood.^(Q)
They pursue evil schemes;^(R)
    acts of violence mark their ways.^(S)
⁸The way of peace they do not know;^(T)
    there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;^(U)
    no one who walks along them will know peace.^(V)

⁹So justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;^(W)
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
¹⁰Like the blind^(X) we grope along the wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble^(Y) as if it were twilight;
    among the strong, we are like the dead.^(Z)
¹¹We all growl like bears;
    we moan mournfully like doves.^(AA)
We look for justice, but find none;
    for deliverance, but it is far away.

¹²For our offenses^(AB) are many in your sight,
    and our sins testify^(AC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
    and we acknowledge our iniquities:^(AD)
¹³rebellion^(AE) and treachery against the Lord,
    turning our backs^(AF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,^(AG)
    uttering lies^(AH) our hearts have conceived.
¹⁴So justice^(AI) is driven back,
    and righteousness^(AJ) stands at a distance;
truth^(AK) has stumbled in the streets,
    honesty cannot enter.
¹⁵Truth^(AL) is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    that there was no justice.^(AM)
¹⁶He saw that there was no one,^(AN)
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;^(AO)
so his own arm achieved salvation^(AP) for him,
    and his own righteousness^(AQ) sustained him.
¹⁷He put on righteousness as his breastplate,^(AR)
    and the helmet^(AS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments^(AT) of vengeance^(AU)
    and wrapped himself in zeal^(AV) as in a cloak.
¹⁸According to what they have done,
    so will he repay^(AW)
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands^(AX) their due.
¹⁹From the west,^(AY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun,^(AZ) they will revere his glory.^(BA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath^(BB) of the Lord drives along.^[a]

²⁰“The Redeemer^(BC) will come to Zion,^(BD)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”^(BE)
declares the Lord.

²¹“As for me, this is my covenant^(BF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,^(BG) who is on you, will not depart from you,^(BH) and my words that I have put in your mouth^(BI) 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.