Isaiah 59:15-20
New English Translation
15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased,[a]
for there is no justice.
The Lord Intervenes
16 He sees there is no advocate;[b]
he is shocked[c] that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands;[d]
his desire for justice drives him on.[e]
17 He wears his desire for justice[f] like body armor,[g]
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.[h]
He puts on the garments of vengeance[i]
and wears zeal like a robe.
18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies.[j]
He repays the coastlands.[k]
19 In the west, people respect[l] the Lord’s reputation;[m]
in the east they recognize his splendor.[n]
For he comes like a rushing[o] stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord.[p]
20 “A protector[q] comes to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,”[r] says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 59:15 tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”
- Isaiah 59:16 tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
- Isaiah 59:16 tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”
- Isaiah 59:16 tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
- Isaiah 59:16 tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
- Isaiah 59:17 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”
- Isaiah 59:17 tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”
- Isaiah 59:17 tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”
- Isaiah 59:17 tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”
- Isaiah 59:18 tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”
- Isaiah 59:18 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).
- Isaiah 59:19 tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”
- Isaiah 59:19 tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”
- Isaiah 59:19 tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”
- Isaiah 59:19 tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”
- Isaiah 59:19 tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).
- Isaiah 59:20 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
- Isaiah 59:20 tn Heb “and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob.”
Isaiah 59:15-20
Common English Bible
15 Truth is missing;
anyone turning from evil is plundered.
God will intervene
The Lord looked and was upset at the absence of justice.
16 Seeing that there was no one,
and astonished that no one would intervene,
God’s arm brought victory,
upheld by righteousness,
17 putting on righteousness as armor
and a helmet of salvation on his head,
putting on garments of vengeance,
and wrapping himself in a cloak of zeal.
18 God will repay according to their actions:
wrath to his foes, retribution to enemies,
retribution to the coastlands,
19 so those in the west will fear the Lord’s name,
and those in the east will fear God’s glory.
It will come like a rushing river
that the Lord’s wind drives on.
20 A redeemer will come to Zion
and to those in Jacob who stop rebelling,
says the Lord.
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