59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak 1 to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you. 2
59:2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers. 3
59:3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
59:4 No one is concerned about justice; 4
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words 5 and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression 6
and give birth to sin.
59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched. 7
59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes. 8
59:7 They are eager to do evil, 9
quick to shed innocent blood. 10
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy. 11
59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust. 12
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. 13
59:9 For this reason deliverance 14 is far from us 15
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light, 16 but see only darkness; 17
we wait for 18 a bright light, 19 but live 20 in deep darkness. 21
59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see; 22
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men. 23
59:11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance, 24 but there is none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, 25
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well. 26
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up 27 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 28
59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness 29 stands far off.
Indeed, 30 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
59:15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased, 31
for there is no justice.
59:16 He sees there is no advocate; 32
he is shocked 33 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands; 34
his desire for justice drives him on. 35
59:17 He wears his desire for justice 36 like body armor, 37
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. 38
He puts on the garments of vengeance 39
and wears zeal like a robe.