Isaiah 59

1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

Behold, the hand of YHWH Has not been shortened from saving, Nor His ear heavy from hearing.

2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

But your iniquities have been separating Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden The Presence from you—from hearing.

3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath uttered perverseness.

For your hands have been defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters perverseness.

4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.

5 They hatch eggs of an adder, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

They have hatched eggs of a viper, And weave webs of a spider, Whoever is eating their eggs dies, and the crushed hatches a viper.

6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Their webs do not become a garment, Nor do they cover themselves with their works, Their works [are] works of iniquity, And a deed of violence [is] in their hands.

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

Their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed innocent blood, Their thoughts [are] thoughts of iniquity, Spoiling and destruction [are] in their highways.

8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whoever goeth in it shall not know peace.

They have not known a way of peace, And there is no judgment in their paths, They have made their paths perverse for themselves, None treading in it has known peace.

9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

Therefore judgment has been far from us, And righteousness does not reach us, We wait for light, and behold, darkness, For brightness—in thick darkness we go,

10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

We feel [for] the wall like the blind, Indeed, we feel as without eyes, We have stumbled at noon as at twilight, In desolate places as the dead.

11 We all roar like bears, and mourn bitterly like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

We make a noise as bears—all of us, And we coo severely as doves; We wait for judgment, and there is none, For salvation—it has been far from us.

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

For our transgressions have been multiplied before You, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions [are] with us, And our iniquities—we have known them.

13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Transgressing, and lying against YHWH, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostasy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.

14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

And judgment is removed backward, And righteousness stands far off, For truth has been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,

15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

And the truth is lacking, And whoever is turning aside from evil, Is making himself a spoil. And YHWH sees, and it is evil in His eyes, That there is no judgment.

16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

And He sees that there is no man, And is astonished that there is no intercessor, And His own arm gives salvation to Him, And His righteousness—it sustained Him.

17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.

And He puts on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head, And He puts on garments of vengeance [for] clothing, And is covered, as [with] an upper-robe, [with] zeal.

18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the isles he will repay recompence.

According to deeds—so He repays. Fury to His adversaries, [their] deed to His enemies, To the islands He repays [their] deed.

19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

And from the west they fear the Name of YHWH, And from the rising of the sun—His glory, When an adversary comes in as a flood, The Spirit of YHWH has raised an ensign against him.

20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

“And the Redeemer has come to Zion, Even to captives of transgression in Jacob,” A declaration of YHWH.

21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

“And I—this [is] My covenant with them,” said YHWH, “My Spirit that [is] on you, And My words that I have put in your mouth, Do not depart from your mouth, And from the mouth of your seed, And from the mouth of your seed’s seed,” said YHWH, “From now on, even for all time!”