Isaiah 59:1-8

New International Reader's Version

59 People of Israel, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you.
    His ears aren’t too deaf to hear your cry for help.
² But your sins have separated you from your God.
    They have caused him to turn his face away from you.
    So he won’t listen to you.
³ Your hands and fingers are stained with blood.
    You are guilty of committing murder.
Your mouth has told lies.
    Your tongue says evil things.
⁴ People aren’t fair when they present cases in court.
    They aren’t honest when they state their case.
They depend on weak arguments. They tell lies.
    They plan to make trouble.
    Then they carry it out.
⁵ The plans they make are like the eggs of poisonous snakes.
    Anyone who eats those eggs will die.
    When one of them is broken, a snake comes out.
⁶ Those people weave their evil plans together like a spider’s web.
    But the webs they make can’t be used as clothes.
    They can’t cover themselves with what they make.
Their acts are evil.
    They do things to harm others.
⁷ They are always in a hurry to sin.
    They run quickly to murder those who aren’t guilty.
They love to think up evil plans.
    They leave a trail of harmful actions.
⁸ They don’t know how to live at peace with others.
    What they do isn’t fair.
They lead twisted lives.
    No one who lives like that will enjoy peace and rest.