59:2 iniquities have been barriers Sin strains Israel’s relationship with God to the point of total separation. Israel’s actions required the separation—it was not what God wanted.

have hidden his face Symbolizes a break in communication and a denial of physical presence. People hid their faces from the Servant in Isa 53:3 as a sign of rejection. Here, Yahweh is forced to turn His face away from them because He cannot look on sin (Hab 1:13).

59:3 your hands are defiled with blood See Isa 1:15 and note.

59:4 there is nobody who judges with honesty Compare the indictment of 1:23. The justice system is corrupt, with people seeking their own gain instead of doing what’s right.

59:5 viper eggs A poisonous snake (compare 11:8). Poisonous serpents signify the severity of the dangerous game the leaders were playing—they were using the justice system to entangle and trap people.

is hatched as a serpent The Hebrew term here is a very rare word for a poisonous serpent. The only other occurrences are in Job 20:16 and Isa 30:6.

59:8 They have made their paths crooked The Hebrew verb used here, aqash, denotes twisting and is always used to describe turning away from what is considered good or right (Mic 3:9; Job 9:20). Deviating from righteousness is often described with the metaphor of a twisted path or crooked road (Prov 10:9; 28:18).

59:9 justice is far from us The people are confessing that their sin has prevented the promised salvation from coming fully as expected in Isa 40–55.

Justice

59:10 at noon as in the twilight The metaphor of blindness reflects the people’s spiritual blindness and inability to find their way back to God.

59:11 We all groan like bears Reflects the emotional state of mourning and anguish; they mourn their sin and desire salvation.

59:14 justice is pushed back The expectation was set up in 51:4–6 that salvation—symbolized by Yahweh’s justice and righteousness—was on its way; they only needed to wait on it. Their lack of faith has prevented them from experiencing the full blessing that was promised. The redemption is still ahead if they will turn back to God.

59:16 so his arm came to assist him The people’s inability to turn back to God on their own displeased God, but He knew that He alone was able to bring salvation. God is the only one who is able to fully keep His promises and fulfill the obligations of the covenant (compare 51:18; 55:8–11; 63:5).

59:17 righteousness like a breastplate Evokes the image of God as the Divine Warrior, arising to do battle on behalf of His people. His armor is symbolic and based on His attributes of righteousness and holiness. The armor of God imagery from Eph 6:13–17 develops these concepts further.

a helmet of salvation See 1 Thess 5:8.

59:19 his glory Yahweh’s visible earthly presence. See note on Isa 6:3.

59:20 a redeemer will come to Zion Yahweh identifies Himself as Israel’s redeemer in 43:14. This is either a third-person reference to Himself or a reference to another sent as Yahweh’s agent to be the redeemer. Redemption is the central theme of chs. 40–55. The promised salvation is still coming, but repentance is required. The Apostle Paul identifies this redeemer with Christ (Rom 11:25–26).

Go’el Word Study

59:21 my spirit that is upon you The Spirit is upon the redeemer—the Messiah. The pronoun “you” is singular. Similar language is used to describe the Messiah in Isa 11:2. See 61:1. The Servant is also promised offspring in 53:10.

that I have placed in your mouth A standard formula referring to God’s communication with His prophets. The use of this formula supports the understanding of the previous phrase as referring to the Servant-Messiah as redeemer. See note on 51:16.