Isaiah 59:1-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Injustice and Oppression to Be Punished
59 See, the Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(A)
2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.(B)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.(C)
4 No one brings suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas; they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and bearing iniquity.(D)
5 They hatch adders’ eggs
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.(E)
6 Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.(F)
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.(G)
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their ways.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.(H)
Isaiah 59:1-8
International Standard Version
Sins that Separate from God
59 “See, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,
nor are his ears[a] too dull to hear.
2 Instead, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have concealed his face from you
so that he won’t listen.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your tongue[b] mutters wickedness.
4 No one brings a lawsuit fairly,
and no one goes to law honestly;
they have relied[c] on empty arguments
and they tell lies;
they conceive[d] trouble
and give birth[e] to iniquity.
5 They hatch[f] adders’ eggs[g]
and weave[h] a spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and any crushed egg hatches out futility.[i]
6 Their cobwebs cannot become clothing,
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are deeds of iniquity,
and acts of violence fill their hands.
7 Their feet rush to evil,
and they are quick to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
ruin, destruction, and violence[j] are in their paths.
8 The pathway of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their courses.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks in them will know peace.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 59:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read ear
- Isaiah 59:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read your lips have spoken lies, your tongue
- Isaiah 59:4 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT reads they rely
- Isaiah 59:4 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT reads to conceive
- Isaiah 59:4 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT reads and to give birth
- Isaiah 59:5 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT reads They have hatched; LXX reads hatched
- Isaiah 59:5 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT read an adder’s eggs
- Isaiah 59:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads weave, but with a different Heb. word
- Isaiah 59:5 Lit. a viper; so 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX utilize feminine form
- Isaiah 59:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and violence
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