Isaiah 59:1–61:11
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the armu of the Lord is not too shortv to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.w
2 But your iniquities have separatedx
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.y
3 For your hands are stained with blood,z
your fingers with guilt.a
Your lips have spoken falsely,b
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;c
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They relyd on empty arguments, they utter lies;e
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.f
5 They hatch the eggs of vipersg
and spin a spider’s web.h
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.i
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violencej are in their hands.
they are swift to shed innocent blood.k
They pursue evil schemes;l
acts of violence mark their ways.m
8 The way of peace they do not know;n
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;o
no one who walks along them will know peace.p
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;q
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blindr we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumbles as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.t
we moan mournfully like doves.u
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offensesv are many in your sight,
and our sins testifyw against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:x
13 rebelliony and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backsz on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,a
uttering liesb our hearts have conceived.
14 So justicec is driven back,
and righteousnessd stands at a distance;
truthe has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truthf is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.g
16 He saw that there was no one,h
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;i
so his own arm achieved salvationj for him,
and his own righteousnessk sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,l
and the helmetm of salvation on his head;
he put on the garmentsn of vengeanceo
and wrapped himself in zealp as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repayq
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islandsr their due.
19 From the west,s people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,t they will revere his glory.u
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breathv of the Lord drives along.a
20 “The Redeemerw will come to Zion,x
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”y
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenantz with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,a who is on you, will not depart from you,b and my words that I have put in your mouthc will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
60 “Arise,d shine, for your lighte has come,
and the gloryf of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darknessg covers the earth
and thick darknessh is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nationsi will come to your light,j
and kingsk to the brightness of your dawn.
4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemblel and come to you;
your sons come from afar,m
and your daughtersn are carried on the hip.o
5 Then you will look and be radiant,p
your heart will throb and swell with joy;q
the wealthr on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camelss will cover your land,
young camels of Midiant and Ephah.u
And all from Shebav will come,
bearing gold and incensew
and proclaiming the praisex of the Lord.
7 All Kedar’sy flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offeringsz on my altar,a
and I will adorn my glorious temple.b
8 “Who are thesec that fly along like clouds,d
like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islandse look to me;
in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,a f
bringingg your children from afar,
with their silver and gold,h
to the honori of the Lord your God,
the Holy Onej of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.k
10 “Foreignersl will rebuild your walls,
and their kingsm will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
in favorn I will show you compassion.o
11 Your gatesp will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nationsq—
their kingsr led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serves you will perish;
it will be utterly ruined.t
13 “The glory of Lebanonu will come to you,
the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,v
to adorn my sanctuary;w
and I will glorify the place for my feet.x
14 The children of your oppressorsy will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow downz at your feet
and will call you the Citya of the Lord,
Zionb of the Holy Onec of Israel.
15 “Although you have been forsakend and hated,
with no one travelinge through,
I will make you the everlasting pridef
and the joyg of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursedh at royal breasts.
Then you will knowi that I, the Lord, am your Savior,j
your Redeemer,k the Mighty One of Jacob.l
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,m
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peacen your governor
and well-being your ruler.o
18 No longer will violencep be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destructionq within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvationr
and your gates Praise.s
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,t
and your God will be your glory.u
20 Your sunv will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorroww will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteousx
and they will possessy the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,z
the work of my hands,a
for the display of my splendor.b
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.c
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly.”d
61 The Spirite of the Sovereign Lordf is on me,
because the Lord has anointedg me
to proclaim good newsh to the poor.i
He has sent me to bind upj the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedomk for the captivesl
and release from darkness for the prisoners,a
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favorm
and the day of vengeancen of our God,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crownq of beauty
instead of ashes,r
the oils of joy
instead of mourning,t
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a plantingu of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.v
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruinsw
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangersx will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priestsy of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealthz of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shamea
you will receive a doubleb portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inheritc a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joyd will be yours.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;e
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenantf with them.
9 Their descendantsg will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”h
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoicesi in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,j
as a bridegroom adorns his headk like a priest,
and as a bridel adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a gardenm causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousnessn
and praise spring up before all nations.