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Separation from Yahweh

59 Behold, (A)the hand of Yahweh is not so short
That it cannot save;
(B)Nor is His ear so [a]dull
That it cannot hear.
But your (C)iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His [b]face from you so that He does (D)not hear.
For your (E)hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken a (F)lie;
Your tongue mutters unrighteousness.
(G)No one calls in righteousness, and (H)no one seeks justice in truth.
They (I)trust in [c]confusion and speak worthlessness;
They (J)conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness.
They break open vipers’ eggs and (K)weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.
Their webs will not become a garment,
Nor will they (L)cover themselves with their works;
Their (M)works are works of wickedness,
And a (N)deed of violence is in their [d]hands.
(O)Their feet run to evil,
And they are quick to shed innocent blood;
(P)Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness;
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
They do not know the (Q)way of peace,
And there is (R)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
(S)Whoever treads on [e]them does not know peace.

Trangressing and Denying Yahweh

Therefore (T)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We (U)hope for light, but behold, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.
10 We (V)grope along the wall like blind men;
We grope like those who have no eyes;
We (W)stumble at midday as in the twilight,
Among those who are vigorous we are (X)like dead men.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (Y)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (Z)justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (AA)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our (AB)sins answer against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And [f]we know our iniquities:
13 Transgressing and (AC)denying Yahweh,
And turning back from our God,
Speaking (AD)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving in and (AE)uttering from the heart lying words.
14 (AF)Justice is turned back,
And (AG)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And rightness cannot enter.
15 So it is that truth is missing;
And he who turns aside from evil (AH)makes himself plunder.
Then Yahweh saw,
And it was evil in His eyes (AI)that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was (AJ)no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His (AK)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on (AL)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a (AM)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on (AN)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with (AO)zeal as a mantle.
18 (AP)According to [g]what they deserve, [h]so He will pay in full,
Wrath to His adversaries, [i]what is deserved to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will [j]pay what they deserve.
19 So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the (AQ)west
And His glory from the (AR)rising of the sun,
For He will (AS)come like a [k]rushing stream
Which the wind of Yahweh makes flee.
20 “A (AT)Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who (AU)turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares Yahweh.

21 “As for Me, this is My (AV)covenant with them,” says Yahweh: “My (AW)Spirit which is upon you, and My (AX)words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed’s seed,” says Yahweh, “from now and forever.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:1 Lit heavy, hardened; cf. Ex 8:15; 1 Sam 6:6
  2. Isaiah 59:2 As in versions; M.T. faces
  3. Isaiah 59:4 Lit formless
  4. Isaiah 59:6 Lit palms
  5. Isaiah 59:8 Lit it
  6. Isaiah 59:12 Lit our iniquities we know them
  7. Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
  8. Isaiah 59:18 Lit accordingly
  9. Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
  10. Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
  11. Isaiah 59:19 Lit narrow

Separation from God

59 Behold, (A)the Lords hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
(B)Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
But your (C)wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His [a]face from you so that He does (D)not hear.
For your (E)hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with wrongdoing;
Your lips have spoken (F)deceit,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
(G)No one sues righteously and (H)no one pleads [b]honestly.
They (I)trust in confusion and speak lies;
They (J)conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
They hatch vipers’ eggs and (K)weave the spider’s web;
The one who eats of their eggs dies,
And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.
Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they (L)cover themselves with their works;
Their (M)works are works of wrongdoing,
And an (N)act of violence is in their [c]hands.
(O)Their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed innocent blood;
(P)Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing,
Devastation and destruction are in their paths.
They do not know the (Q)way of peace,
And there is (R)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
(S)Whoever walks on [d]them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness

Therefore (T)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not reach us;
We (U)hope for light, but there is darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We (V)grope for the wall like people who are blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We (W)stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are (X)like the dead.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (Y)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (Z)justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (AA)wrongful acts have multiplied before You,
And our (AB)sins have testified against us;
For our wrongful acts are with us,
And [e]we know our wrongdoings:
13 [f]Offending and (AC)denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking (AD)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and (AE)uttering lying words from the heart.
14 (AF)Justice is turned back,
And (AG)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 (AH)makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was [g]displeasing in His sight (AI)that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was (AJ)no one,
And was amazed that there was not one to intercede;
Then His (AK)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on (AL)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a (AM)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on (AN)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with (AO)zeal as a cloak.
18 (AP)According to their deeds, [h]so will He repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, [i]retribution to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will [j]deal [k]retribution.
19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the (AQ)west
And His glory from the (AR)rising of the sun,
For He will (AS)come like a [l]rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 “A (AT)Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob who (AU)turn from wrongdoing,” declares the Lord.

21 “As for Me, this is My (AV)covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My (AW)Spirit who is upon you, and My (AX)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your [m]offspring, nor from the mouth of your [n]offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:2 As in ancient versions; MT faces
  2. Isaiah 59:4 Lit in truth
  3. Isaiah 59:6 Lit palms
  4. Isaiah 59:8 Lit it
  5. Isaiah 59:12 Lit our wrongdoings we know them
  6. Isaiah 59:13 Or Revolting against and
  7. Isaiah 59:15 Or evil
  8. Isaiah 59:18 Lit accordingly
  9. Isaiah 59:18 Lit requital
  10. Isaiah 59:18 Lit repay
  11. Isaiah 59:18 Lit requital
  12. Isaiah 59:19 Lit narrow
  13. Isaiah 59:21 Lit seed
  14. Isaiah 59:21 Lit seed