Isaiah, 59

1. No, the arm of Yahweh is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear,

1. Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;

2. but your guilty deeds have made a gulf between you and your God. Your sins have made him hide his face from you so as not to hear you,

2. but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear.

3. since your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with guilt; your lips utter lies, your tongues murmur wickedness.

3. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.

4. No one makes upright accusations or pleads sincerely. All rely on empty words, utter falsehood, conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

4. No one enters suit justly, no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

5. They are hatching adders' eggs and weaving a spider's web; eat one of their eggs and you die, crush one and a viper emerges.

5. They hatch adders' eggs, they weave the spider's web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one which is crushed a viper is hatched.

6. Their webs are useless for clothing, their deeds are useless for wearing; their deeds are deeds of guilt, violence fills their hands.

6. Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.

7. Their feet run to do evil; they are quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of guilt, wherever they go there is havoc and ruin.

7. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation and destruction are in their highways.

8. They do not know the way of peace, there is no fair judgement in their course, they have made their own crooked paths, and no one treading them knows any peace.

8. The way of peace they know not, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked, no one who goes in them knows peace.

9. Thus fair judgement is remote from us nor can uprightness overtake us. We looked for light and all is darkness, for brightness and we walk in gloom.

9. Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we look for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10. Like the blind we feel our way along walls, we grope our way like people without eyes. We stumble as though noon were twilight, among the robust we are like the dead.

10. We grope for the wall like the blind, we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

11. We growl, all of us, like bears, like doves we make no sound but moaning, waiting for the fair judgement that never comes, for salvation, but that is far away.

11. We all growl like bears, we moan and moan like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

12. How often we have rebelled against you and our sins bear witness against us. Our rebellious acts are indeed with us, we are well aware of our guilt:

12. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:

13. rebellion and denial of Yahweh, turning our back on our God, talking violence and revolt, murmuring lies in our heart.

13. transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

14. Fair judgement is driven away and saving justice stands aloof, for good faith has stumbled in the street and sincerity cannot enter.

14. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth has fallen in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.

15. Good faith has vanished; anyone abstaining from evil is victimised. Yahweh saw this and was displeased that there was no fair judgement.

15. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

16. He saw there was no one and wondered there was no one to intervene. So he made his own arm his mainstay, his own saving justice his support.

16. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene; then his own arm brought him victory, and his righteousness upheld him.

17. He put on saving justice like a breastplate, on his head the helmet of salvation. He put on the clothes of vengeance like a tunic and wrapped himself in jealousy like a cloak.

17. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury as a mantle.

18. To each he repays his due, retribution to his enemies, reprisals on his foes, to the coasts and islands he will repay their due.

18. According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render requital.

19. From the west, Yahweh's name will be feared, and from the east, his glory, for he will come like a pent-up stream impelled by the breath of Yahweh.

19. So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the LORD drives.

20. Then for Zion will come a redeemer, for those who stop rebelling in Jacob, declares Yahweh.

20. "And he will come to Zion as Redeemer, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the LORD.

21. 'For my part, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh. My spirit with which I endowed you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or the mouths of your children, or the mouths of your children's children, says Yahweh, henceforth and for ever.'

21. "And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your children, or out of the mouth of your children's children, says the LORD, from this time forth and for evermore."