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Injustice Brings Alienation from God

59 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak[a] to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you.[b]
But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.[c]
For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
No one is concerned about justice;[d]
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words[e] and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression[f]
and give birth to sin.
They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched.[g]
Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes.[h]
They are eager to do evil,[i]
quick to shed innocent blood.[j]
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy.[k]
They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust.[l]
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.[m]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:1 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  2. Isaiah 59:1 tn Heb “or his ear too heavy [i.e., “dull”] to hear.”
  3. Isaiah 59:2 tn Heb “and your sins have caused [his] face to be hidden from you so as not to hear.”
  4. Isaiah 59:4 tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”
  5. Isaiah 59:4 tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”
  6. Isaiah 59:4 tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”
  7. Isaiah 59:5 tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”
  8. Isaiah 59:6 tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”
  9. Isaiah 59:7 tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
  10. Isaiah 59:7 tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
  11. Isaiah 59:7 tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”
  12. Isaiah 59:8 tn Heb “a way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their pathways.”
  13. Isaiah 59:8 tn Heb “their paths they make crooked; everyone who walks in it does not know peace.”

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)
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)
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.
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)
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.
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.
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)
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)

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