Isaiah 59

1 Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.

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

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

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.

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

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

4 No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

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

5 They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

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;

6 Their webs won’t become garments. They won’t cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence are in their hands.

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;

7 Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Desolation and destruction are in their paths.

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;

8 They don’t know the way of peace; and there is no justice in their ways. They have made crooked paths for themselves; whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace.

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.

9 Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness doesn’t overtake us. We look for light, but see darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

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:

10 We grope for the wall like the blind. Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.

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!

11 We all roar like bears and moan sadly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far off from us.

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!

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

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:

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

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

14 Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter.

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;

15 Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

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:

16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness sustained him.

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;

17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.

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,

18 According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate: wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. He will repay the islands their due.

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

19 So they will fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which Yahweh’s breath drives.

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;

20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh.

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

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”

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.