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Warnings against Sin

59 Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest.
    The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
    and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
    and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
    and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
    and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
    and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
    Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
    or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
    and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

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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.

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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