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Isaiah 59
Legacy Standard Bible
Isaiah 59
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
2 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.
3 For your (E)hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken a (F)lie;
Your tongue mutters unrighteousness.
4 (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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 (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.
8 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
9 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
- Isaiah 59:1 Lit heavy, hardened; cf. Ex 8:15; 1 Sam 6:6
- Isaiah 59:2 As in versions; M.T. faces
- Isaiah 59:4 Lit formless
- Isaiah 59:6 Lit palms
- Isaiah 59:8 Lit it
- Isaiah 59:12 Lit our iniquities we know them
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit accordingly
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
- Isaiah 59:19 Lit narrow
Isaiah 59
The Message
Isaiah 59
The Message
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.
Isaiah 59
New International Version
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)
2 But your iniquities have separated(D)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(E)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(F)
your fingers with guilt.(G)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(H)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No 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)
5 They 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.
6 Their 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.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(Q)
They pursue evil schemes;(R)
acts of violence mark their ways.(S)
8 The 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)
9 So 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.
10 Like 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)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(AA)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For 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)
13 rebellion(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.
14 So justice(AI) is driven back,
and righteousness(AJ) stands at a distance;
truth(AK) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(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)
16 He 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.
17 He 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.
18 According 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.
19 From 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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
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The Message (MSG)
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