Isa 59 | LSB | STEP | Behold, the hand of Yahweh is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.

‏ Isaiah 59

Separation from Yahweh

1 Behold, the hand of Yahweh is not so short
That it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so ^{▼▼Lit heavy, hardened; cf. Ex 8:15; 1 Sam 6:6}dull
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His ^{▼▼As in versions; M.T. faces}face from you so that He does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken a lie;
Your tongue mutters unrighteousness.
4 No one calls in righteousness, and no one seeks justice in truth.
They trust in ^{▼▼Lit formless}confusion and speak worthlessness;
They conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness.
5 They break open vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.
6 Their webs will not become a garment,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of wickedness,
And a deed of violence is in their ^{▼▼Lit palms}hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
And they are quick to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness;
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
8 They do not know the way of peace,
And there is no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
Whoever treads on ^{▼▼Lit it}them does not know peace.

Trangressing and Denying Yahweh

9 Therefore justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We hope for light, but behold, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.
10 We grope along the wall like blind men;
We grope like those who have no eyes;
We stumble at midday as in the twilight,
Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We hope for justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins answer against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And ^{▼▼Lit our iniquities we know them}we know our iniquities:
13 Transgressing and denying Yahweh,
And turning back from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And rightness cannot enter.
15 So it is that truth is missing;
And he who turns aside from evil makes himself plunder.

Then Yahweh saw,
And it was evil in His eyes that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
18 According to ^{▼▼Lit recompense}what they deserve, ^{▼▼Lit accordingly}so He will pay in full,
Wrath to His adversaries, ^{▼▼Lit recompense}what is deserved to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will ^{▼▼Lit recompense}pay what they deserve.
19 So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a ^{▼▼Lit narrow}rushing stream
Which the wind of Yahweh makes flee.
20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares Yahweh.
21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says Yahweh: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed’s seed,” says Yahweh, “from now and forever.”