Isaiah 59:2–13

²It is because of your sins that he doesn’t hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him. ³You are guilty of lying, violence, and murder.

⁴You go to court, but you haven’t got justice on your side. You depend on lies to win your case. You carry out your plans to hurt others. ^5–6The evil plots you make are as deadly as the eggs of a poisonous snake. Crush an egg, out comes a snake! But your plots will do you no good—they are as useless as clothing made of cobwebs! ^7*You are always planning something evil, and you can hardly wait to do it. You never hesitate to murder innocent people. You leave ruin and destruction wherever you go, ^8*and no one is safe when you are about. Everything you do is unjust. You follow a crooked path, and no one who walks that path will ever be safe.

The People Confess Their Sins

⁹The people say, “Now we know why God does not save us from those who oppress us. We hope for light to walk by, but there is only darkness, ¹⁰and we grope about like blind people. We stumble at noon, as if it were night, as if we were in the dark world of the dead. ¹¹We are frightened and distressed. We long for God to save us from oppression and wrong, but nothing happens.

¹²“Lord, our crimes against you are many. Our sins accuse us. We are well aware of them all. ¹³We have rebelled against you, rejected you, and refused to follow you. We have oppressed others and turned away from you. Our thoughts are false; our words are lies.