Separated from God

59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not (A)shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will (B)not hear.
For (C)your hands are defiled with [a]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in (D)empty words and speak lies;
(E)They conceive [b]evil and bring forth iniquity.
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.

(F)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.
(G)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed (H)innocent blood;
(I)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and (J)destruction are in their paths.
The way of (K)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
(L)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

Sin Confessed

Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
(M)We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 (N)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 (O)moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (P)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 (Q)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 (R)prey.

The Redeemer of Zion

Then the Lord saw it, and [c]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 (S)He saw that there was no man,
And (T)wondered that there was no intercessor;
(U)Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 (V)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 (W)According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 (X)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 (Y)like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

20 “The(Z) Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

21 “As(AA) 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

  1. Isaiah 59:3 bloodshed
  2. Isaiah 59:4 trouble
  3. Isaiah 59:15 Lit. it was evil in His eyes

59 Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save;
    nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.
But your iniquities have separated you and your God,
    and your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood,
    and your fingers with iniquity.
Your lips have spoken lies.
    Your tongue mutters wickedness.
No one sues in righteousness,
    and no one pleads in truth.
They trust in vanity
    and speak lies.
They conceive mischief
    and give birth to iniquity.
They hatch adders’ eggs
    and weave the spider’s web.
He who eats of their eggs dies;
    and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
Their webs won’t become garments.
    They won’t cover themselves with their works.
Their works are works of iniquity,
    and acts of violence are in their hands.
Their feet run to evil,
    and they hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.
    Desolation and destruction are in their paths.
They don’t know the way of peace;
    and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made crooked paths for themselves;
    whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace.

Therefore justice is far from us,
    and righteousness doesn’t overtake us.
We look for light, but see darkness;
    for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind.
    Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
    Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.
11 We all roar like bears
    and moan sadly like doves.
We look for justice, but there is none,
    for salvation, but it is far off from us.

12 For our 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 transgressing and denying Yahweh,
    and turning away from following our God,
    speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned away backward,
    and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has fallen in the street,
    and uprightness can’t enter.
15 Yes, truth is lacking;
    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Yahweh saw it,
    and it displeased him that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
    and wondered that there was no intercessor.
Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him;
    and his righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
    and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
    and was clad with zeal as a mantle.
18 According to their deeds,
    he will repay as appropriate:
    wrath to his adversaries,
    recompense to his enemies.
    He will repay the islands their due.
19 So they will fear Yahweh’s name from the west,
    and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come as a rushing stream,
    which Yahweh’s breath drives.

20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion,
    and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”

Pecado, confesión y redención

59 La mano del Señor
    no se queda corta para salvar,
    ni es sordo su oído para oír.
Son vuestras iniquidades
    las que os separan de vuestro Dios.
Son estos pecados los que lo llevan
    a ocultar su rostro para no escuchar.
Tenéis las manos manchadas de sangre
    y los dedos manchados de iniquidad.
Vuestros labios dicen mentiras;
    vuestra lengua murmura maldades.
Nadie clama por la justicia,
    nadie va a juicio con integridad.
Se confía en argumentos sin sentido,
    y se mienten unos a otros.
Conciben malicia
    y dan a luz perversidad.
Incuban huevos de víboras
    y tejen telarañas.
El que coma de estos huevos morirá;
    si uno de ellos se rompe, saldrá una culebra.
Sus tejidos no sirven para vestido;
    no podrán cubrirse con lo que fabrican.
Sus obras son obras de iniquidad,
    y sus manos generan violencia.
Sus pies corren hacia el mal;
    se apresuran a derramar sangre inocente.
Sus pensamientos son perversos;
    dejan ruina y destrucción en sus caminos.
No conocen la senda de la paz;
    no hay justicia alguna en su camino.
Abren senderos tortuosos,
    y el que anda por ellos no conoce la paz.

Por eso el derecho está lejos de nosotros,
    y la justicia queda fuera de nuestro alcance.
Esperábamos luz, pero todo es tinieblas;
    claridad, pero andamos en densa oscuridad.
10 Vamos palpando la pared como los ciegos,
    andamos a tientas como los que no tienen ojos.
En pleno mediodía tropezamos como si fuera de noche;
    teniendo fuerzas, estamos como muertos.
11 Todos nosotros gruñimos como osos,
    gemimos como palomas.
Esperábamos la justicia, y no llegó;
    ¡la liberación sigue lejos de nosotros!

12 Tú sabes que son muchas nuestras rebeliones;
    nuestros pecados nos acusan.
Nuestras rebeliones no nos dejan;
    conocemos nuestras iniquidades.
13 Hemos sido rebeldes; hemos negado al Señor.
    ¡Le hemos vuelto la espalda a nuestro Dios!
Fomentamos la opresión y la traición;
    proferimos las mentiras concebidas en nuestro corazón.
14 Así se le vuelve la espalda al derecho,
    y se mantiene alejada la justicia;
a la verdad se le hace tropezar en la plaza,
    y no damos lugar a la honradez.
15 No se ve la verdad por ninguna parte;
    al que se aparta del mal lo despojan de todo.

El Señor lo ha visto, y le ha disgustado
    ver que no hay justicia alguna.
16 Lo ha visto, y le ha asombrado
    ver que no hay nadie que intervenga.
Por eso su propio brazo vendrá a salvarlos;
    su propia justicia los sostendrá.
17 Se pondrá la justicia como coraza,
    y se cubrirá la cabeza con el casco de la salvación;
se vestirá con ropas de venganza,
    y se envolverá en el manto de sus celos.
18 Les pagará según sus obras;
    a las costas lejanas les dará su merecido:
furor para sus adversarios,
    y retribución para sus enemigos.

19 Desde el occidente temerán el nombre del Señor,
    y desde el oriente respetarán su gloria.
Porque vendrá como un torrente caudaloso,
    impulsado por el soplo del Señor.

20 «El Redentor vendrá a Sión;
    ¡vendrá a todos los de Jacob
    que se arrepientan de su rebeldía!
            —afirma el Señor—.

21 »En cuanto a mí —dice el Señor—,
    este es mi pacto con ellos:
Mi Espíritu que está sobre ti,
    y mis palabras que he puesto en tus labios,
no se apartarán más de ti,
    ni de tus hijos ni de sus descendientes,
    desde ahora y para siempre
            —dice el Señor—.