Isaiah 59
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 59
Salvation Delayed
1 [a]No, the hand of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(A)
2 Rather, it is your crimes
that separate you from your God,
It is your sins that make him hide his face
so that he does not hear you.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with crime;
Your lips speak falsehood,
and your tongue utters deceit.(B)
4 No one brings suit justly,
no one pleads truthfully;
They trust an empty plea and tell lies;
they conceive mischief and bring forth malice.
5 [b]They hatch adders’ eggs,
and weave spiders’ webs:
Whoever eats the eggs will die,
if one of them is crushed, it will hatch a viper;(C)
6 Their webs cannot serve as clothing,
nor can they cover themselves with their works.
Their works are evil works,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they hasten to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness,
violence and destruction are on their highways.(D)
8 The way of peace they know not,
and there is no justice on their paths;
Their roads they have made crooked,
no one who walks in them knows peace.
Acknowledgment of Transgressions
9 [c]That is why judgment is far from us
and justice does not reach us.
We look for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, and we walk in gloom!(E)
10 Like those who are blind we grope along the wall,
like people without eyes we feel our way.
We stumble at midday as if at twilight,
among the vigorous, we are like the dead.
11 Like bears we all growl,
like doves we moan without ceasing.
We cry out for justice, but it is not there;
for salvation, but it is far from us.(F)
12 For our transgressions before you are many,
our sins bear witness against us.
Our transgressions are present to us,
and our crimes we acknowledge:
13 Transgressing, and denying the Lord,
turning back from following our God,
Planning fraud and treachery,
uttering lying words conceived in the heart.
14 Judgment is turned away,
and justice stands far off;
For truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.(G)
15 Fidelity is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
Divine Intervention
The Lord saw this, and was aggrieved
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
was appalled that there was none to intervene;
Then his own arm brought about the victory,
and his justice sustained him.
17 He put on justice as his breastplate,
victory as a helmet on his head;
He clothed himself with garments of vengeance,
wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal.(H)
18 According to their deeds he repays his enemies
and requites his foes with wrath;
to the coastlands he renders recompense.
19 Those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory,
Coming like a pent-up stream
driven on by the breath of the Lord.
20 Then for Zion shall come a redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression—oracle of the Lord.(I)
21 [d]This is my covenant with them,
which I myself have made, says the Lord:
My spirit which is upon you
and my words that I have put in your mouth
Shall not depart from your mouth,
nor from the mouths of your children
Nor the mouths of your children’s children
from this time forth and forever, says the Lord.(J)
Footnotes
- 59:1–20 This poem brings together a lament of the postexilic community and a harsh word of judgment from the prophet. After the opening rhetorical question, each of the stanzas begins with a reference to the justice and right judgment which are lacking among the people (vv. 4, 9, 14). Toward the end of the poem, God is depicted as a Divine Warrior (vv. 16–20) who is the only one who can intervene in order to bring redemption. This same Divine Warrior imagery is repeated in a similar fashion in 63:1–6.
- 59:5–6 The eggs signify evil works, doing positive harm; the webs are devices that serve no useful purpose.
- 59:9–15 The turning point in the poem comes when the people acknowledge their transgressions and describe the horror of their present state. Light is a metaphor for salvation (cf. 9:1; 42:16; 60:1–3, 19–20) and darkness represents sin and disaster.
- 59:21 This verse makes the transition from chaps. 56–59 to chaps. 60–62. Oracles of judgment yield to oracles about God’s redemptive action.
Isaiah 59
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Sin and Redemption
59 Indeed, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,(A)
and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(B) have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have made Him hide His face from you(C)
so that He does not listen.(D)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4 No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.(E)
5 They hatch viper’s eggs
and weave spider’s webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7 Their feet run after evil,(F)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(G)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(H)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(I)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(J)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10 We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.(K)
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11 We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.(L)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before You,(M)
and our sins testify against us.(N)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(O)
13 transgression and deception against the Lord,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
16 He saw that there was no man—
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;(P)
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on His head;(Q)
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and He wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.(R)
18 So He will repay according to their deeds:(S)
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and He will repay the coastlands.
19 They will fear the name of Yahweh in the west
and His glory in the east;(T)
for He will come like a rushing stream(U)
driven by the wind of the Lord.
20 “The Redeemer(V) will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”(W)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,”(X) says the Lord: “My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth,(Y) will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children, or from the mouth of your children’s children, from now on and forever,” says the Lord.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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