Isaiah 59

Sin, Confession and Redemption

Surely the arm^a of the Lord is not too short^b to save,

nor his ear too dull to hear.^c

But your iniquities have separated^d

you from your God;

your sins have hidden his face from you,

so that he will not hear.^e

For your hands are stained with blood,^f

your fingers with guilt.^g

Your lips have spoken falsely,^h

and your tongue mutters wicked things.

No one calls for justice;ⁱ

no one pleads their case with integrity.

They rely^j on empty arguments, they utter lies;^k

they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.^l

They hatch the eggs of vipers^m

and spin a spider’s web.ⁿ

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.^o

Their deeds are evil deeds,

and acts of violence^p are in their hands.

Their feet rush into sin;

they are swift to shed innocent blood.^q

They pursue evil schemes;^r

acts of violence mark their ways.^s

The way of peace they do not know;^t

there is no justice in their paths.

They have turned them into crooked roads;^u

no one who walks along them will know peace.^v

So justice is far from us,

and righteousness does not reach us.

We look for light, but all is darkness;^w

for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

Like the blind^x we grope along the wall,

feeling our way like people without eyes.

At midday we stumble^y as if it were twilight;

among the strong, we are like the dead.^z

We all growl like bears;

we moan mournfully like doves.^a

We look for justice, but find none;

for deliverance, but it is far away.

For our offenses^b are many in your sight,

and our sins testify^c against us.

Our offenses are ever with us,

and we acknowledge our iniquities:^d

rebellion^e and treachery against the Lord,

turning our backs^f on our God,

inciting revolt and oppression,^g

uttering lies^h our hearts have conceived.

So justiceⁱ is driven back,

and righteousness^j stands at a distance;

truth^k has stumbled in the streets,

honesty cannot enter.

Truth^l is nowhere to be found,

and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased

that there was no justice.^m

He saw that there was no one,ⁿ

he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;^o

so his own arm achieved salvation^p for him,

and his own righteousness^q sustained him.

He put on righteousness as his breastplate,^r

and the helmet^s of salvation on his head;

he put on the garments^t of vengeance^u

and wrapped himself in zeal^v as in a cloak.

According to what they have done,

so will he repay^w

wrath to his enemies

and retribution to his foes;

he will repay the islands^x their due.

From the west,^y people will fear the name of the Lord,

and from the rising of the sun,^z they will revere his glory.^a

For he will come like a pent-up flood

that the breath^b of the Lord drives along.

“The Redeemer^c will come to Zion,^d

to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”^e

declares the Lord.

“As for me, this is my covenant^f with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,^g who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth^h will not depart from your mouth,ⁱ or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.