Isaiah 59:4–8

No one enters suit justly;

no one goes to law honestly;

they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,

they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

They hatch adders’ eggs;

they weave the spider’s web;

he who eats their eggs dies,

and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.

Their webs will not serve as clothing;

men will not cover themselves with what they make.

Their works are works of iniquity,

and deeds of violence are in their hands.

Their feet run to evil,

and they are swift to shed innocent blood;

their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;

desolation and destruction are in their highways.

The way of peace they do not know,

and there is no justice in their paths;

they have made their roads crooked;

no one who treads on them knows peace.

No one calls for justice;

no one pleads a case with integrity.

They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;

they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

They hatch the eggs of vipers

and spin a spider’s web.

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.

Their deeds are evil deeds,

and acts of violence are in their hands.

Their feet rush into sin;

they are swift to shed innocent blood.

They pursue evil schemes;

acts of violence mark their ways.

The way of peace they do not know;

there is no justice in their paths.

They have turned them into crooked roads;

no one who walks along them will know peace.

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.

There is nobody who pleads with justice,

and there is nobody who judges with honesty.

They rely on nothing

and speak vanity.

They conceive trouble

and beget iniquity;

they hatch viper eggs,

and they weave a spider web.

One who eats their eggs dies,

and that which is pressed is hatched as a serpent.

Their webs cannot become clothing,

and they cannot cover themselves with their works.

Their works are works of iniquity,

and deeds of violence are in their hands.

Their feet run to evil,

and they hasten to shed innocent blood.

Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;

devastation and destruction are in their highways.

They do not know the way of peace,

and there is no justice in their firm paths.

They have made their paths crooked for themselves;

everyone who walks in it knows no peace.

None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth:

They trust in vanity, and speak lies;

They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

They hatch cockatrice’ eggs,

And weave the spider’s web:

He that eateth of their eggs dieth,

And that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Their webs shall not become garments,

Neither shall they cover themselves with their works:

Their works are works of iniquity,

And the act of violence is in their hands.

Their feet run to evil,

And they make haste to shed innocent blood:

Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;

Wasting and destruction are in their paths.

The way of peace they know not;

And there is no judgment in their goings:

They have made them crooked paths:

Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.