Esias 59

1 Has the hand of the Lord no power to save? or has he made his ear heavy, so that he should not hear?

Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, Nor is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear;

2 Nay, your iniquities separate between you and God, and because of your sins has he turned away [his] face from you, so as not to have mercy [upon you].

But your iniquities have separated you from your God, And your sins have hidden his face from you, that he doth not hear.

3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips also have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness.

For your hands are polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips speak falsehood, And your tongue muttereth wickedness.

4 None speaks justly, neither is there true judgment: they trust in vanities, and speak empty [words]; for they conceive trouble, and bring forth iniquity.

No one bringeth his suit with justice, And no one pleadeth with truth; They trust in vain words, and speak lies; They conceive mischief, and bring forth destruction.

5 They have hatched asps' eggs, and weave a spider's web: and he that is going to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled egg, has found also in it a basilisk.

They hatch the eggs of the basilisk, And weave the web of the spider; He that eateth of their eggs dieth, And when one of them is crushed, a viper breaketh forth.

6 Their web shall not become a garment, nor shall they at all clothe themselves with their works; for their works are works of iniquity.

Of their webs no garment is made, Nor can one cover himself with their work; Their works are works of iniquity, And the deed of violence is in their hands.

7 And their feet run to wickedness, swift to shed blood; their thoughts also are thoughts of murder; destruction and misery are in their ways;

Their feet run to evil; They make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; Oppression and destruction are in their paths.

8 and the way of peace they know not, neither is there judgment in their ways; for their paths by which they go are crooked, and they know not peace.

The way of peace they know not, Nor is there any justice in their steps; They have made for themselves crooked paths; Whoso goeth in them knoweth not peace.

9 Therefore has judgment departed from them, and righteousness shall not overtake them: while they waited for light, darkness came upon them; while they waited for brightness, they walked in perplexity.

Therefore is judgment far from us, And deliverance doth not overtake us. We look for light, and behold obscurity; For brightness, and we walk in darkness.

10 They shall feel for the wall as blind [men], and shall feel [for it] as if they had no eyes: and they shall feel at noon-day as at midnight; they shall groan as dying men.

We grope for the wall, like the blind; We feel our way, like those that are deprived of sight; We stumble at noonday as in the night; In the midst of fertile fields we are like the dead.

11 They shall proceed together as a bear and as a dove: we have waited for judgment, and there is no salvation, it is gone far from us.

We groan, all of us, like bears, And like doves we make a continued moan; We look for judgment, and it cometh not; For salvation, and it is far from us.

12 For our iniquity is great before you, and our sins have risen up against us: for our iniquities are in us, and we know our unrighteous deeds.

For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, And our sins testify against us! For our transgressions are not hidden from us, And our iniquities we know.

13 We have sinned, and dealt falsely, and revolted from our God: we have spoken unrighteous words, and have been disobedient; we have conceived and uttered from our heart unrighteous words.

We have rebelled, and proved false to Jehovah; We have departed from our God; We have spoken violence and rebellion; Our hearts have conceived and brought forth words of falsehood.

14 And we have turned judgment back, and righteousness has departed afar off: for truth is consumed in their ways, and they could not pass by a straight [path].

And justice is turned back, And equity standeth afar off, For truth falleth in the gate, And rectitude cannot enter.

15 And truth has been taken away, and they have turned aside [their] mind from understanding. And the Lord saw it, and it pleased him not that there was no judgment.

Truth is not to be found, And he that departeth from evil is plundered; And Jehovah saw it, And it displeased him that there was no justice.

16 And he looked, and there was no man, and he observed, and there was none to help: so he defended them with his arm, and established [them] with [his] mercy.

He saw that there was none to help, And wondered that there was none to interpose; Then his own arm wrought salvation for him, And his righteousness it supported him.

17 And he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and placed the helmet of salvation on his head; and he clothed himself with the garment of vengeance, and with his cloak,

He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And the helmet of salvation upon his head; He put on garments of vengeance for his clothing, And clad himself with zeal, as with a mantle.

18 as one about to render a recompence, [even] reproach to his adversaries.

According to their deeds will he repay them, —Wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; To the distant coasts will he repay a recompense.

19 So shall they of the west fear the name of the Lord, and they [that come] from the rising of the sun his glorious name: for the wrath of the Lord shall come as a mighty river, it shall come with fury.

They in the west shall fear the name of Jehovah, And they in the rising of the sun his glory, When he cometh like a river straitened in its course, Which a strong wind driveth along.

20 And the deliverer shall come for Sion's sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

Yet shall a redeemer come to Zion, For them that turn from their transgressions in Jacob, saith Jehovah.

21 And this shall be my covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit which is upon you, and the words which I have put in your mouth, shall never fail from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever.

And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah: My spirit, which is upon thee, And my words, which I have put in thy mouth, They shall not depart from thy mouth, Nor from the mouth of thy sons, Nor from the mouth of thy sons' sons, saith Jehovah, From this time forth forever.