Isaiah 59:2–13

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.