Isaiah 59

1 Lo! the hand of Yahweh is not too short to save, —Neither is his ear too heavy to hear.

Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.

2 But, your iniquities, have become separators betwixt you and your God, And your sins, have caused a hiding of face from you that he should-not hear.

Your sinful acts, however, have separated you from your God, and your sins have made him hide his face from you and from hearing you.

3 For, your hands, are defiled with blood, And, your fingers, with iniquity, —Your lips, have spoken falsehood, and Your tongue, muttereth, perversity.

For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin. Your lips speak lies and your tongue speaks maliciously.

4 None, sueth in righteousness, and None, pleadeth in faithfulness, —Men are trusting in confusion, And speaking vanity, Conceiving wickedness And bringing forth iniquity:

No one calls in righteousness, and none pleads his case in truth. They trust in empty words, and tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to sin.

5 Viper’s eggs, do they hatch, Spider’s threads, do they weave, —He that eateth of their eggs, dieth, And, that which is crushed, bringeth forth an adder;

They hatch eggs of a poisonous snake and weave a spider's web. Whoever eats of their eggs dies, and if an egg is crushed, it hatches into a poisonous snake.

6 Their threads, shall not become a garment, Neither shall they cover themselves with their fabrics, —Their fabrics, are fabrics of iniquity, Yea the product of violence is in their hands;

Their webs cannot be used for garments, nor can they cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of sin, and deeds of violence are in their hands.

7 Their feet, to mischief, do run, And they speed to shed innocent blood, —Their devices, are devices of iniquity, Wasting and destruction, are in their high roads;

Their feet run to evil, and they run to pour out innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of sin; violence and destruction are their roads.

8 the way of well-being, have they not known, And there is no justice in their tracks, —Their paths, have they made crooked for themselves, None who treadeth therein knoweth well—being.

The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. They have made crooked paths; whoever travels these paths does not know peace.

9 For this cause, hath justice removed far from us, And righteousness overtaketh us not, —We wait for light, But lo! darkness, For brightness, In thick darkness, we walk:

Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness reach us. We wait for light, but see darkness; we look for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

10 We grope, as blind men for a wall, Yea, as men without eyes, do we grope, —We have stumbled at broad noon as though it were twilight, In desolate places like the dead!

We grope for the wall like the blind, like those who cannot see. We stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among the strong we are like dead men.

11 We growl like bears all of us, And, like doves, do we, mournfully coo, —We wait For justice, and there is none, For salvation it is far from us!

We growl like bears and moan like doves; we wait for justice, but there is none; for rescue, but it is far from us.

12 For our transgressions have multiplied before thee, And, our sins, have witnessed against us, —For, our transgressions, are with us, And as for our iniquities, we acknowledge them:

For our many transgressions are before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our sins.

13 Transgressing, and denying Yahweh, And turning away from following our God, —Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving, and muttering from the heart, words of falsehood.

We have rebelled, denying Yahweh and turning away from following our God. We have spoken extortion and turning aside, conceived complaining from the heart and words of lying.

14 So then there hath been a driving back of justice, And righteousness, afar off, standeth, —For truth, hath stumbled in the broad-way, And, right, cannot enter;

Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, and right cannot come.

15 And the truth hath been found missing, And he that hath turned away from wrong is liable to be despoiled, And when, Yahweh, looked, Then was it grievous in his eyes that there was no justice:

Trustworthiness has gone away, and he who turns away from evil makes himself a victim. Yahweh saw it and was displeased that there was no justice.

16 When he saw that there was no mighty man, Then was he astonished that there was none to interpose, —So his own arm brought him salvation, And his own righteousness, the same, upheld him;

He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene. Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him, and his righteousness sustained him.

17 And he put on Righteousness as a coat of mail, And a helmet of victory upon his head, —And he put on the garments of avenging, for clothing, And wrapped about him as a cloak—jealousy,

He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head. He clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wore zeal as a mantle.

18 According to their deeds, accordingly, will he repay, Indignation to his adversaries, Recompense to his enemies, —To the Coastlands—recompense, will he repay:

He repaid them for what they had done, angry judgment to his adversaries, vengeance to his enemies, to the islands punishment as their reward.

19 That they may revere—From the West the name of Yahweh, And from the Rising of the Sun his glory, For he will come in like a rushing stream, the breath of Yahweh, driving it on;

So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west, and his glory from the sun's rising; for he will come as a rushing stream, driven by the breath of Yahweh.

20 So shall come in for Zion, a Redeemer, Even for such as are turning from transgression in Jacob, —Declareth Yahweh.

“A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—this is Yahweh's declaration.

21 And as for me, this, shall be my covenant with them, Saith Yahweh: My spirit that is upon thee, And my words which I have put in thy mouth, —Shall not be taken out of thy mouth—Nor out of the mouth of thy seed. Nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, Saith Yahweh, From henceforth even unto times age-abiding.

As for me, this is my covenant with them—says Yahweh—my spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or go out of the mouth of your children, or go out of the mouth of your children's children—says Yahweh—from this time and forever.”