Isaiah 59
The Message
We Long for Light but Sink into Darkness
59 1-8 Look! Listen!
God’s arm is not amputated—he can still save.
God’s ears are not stopped up—he can still hear.
There’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.
Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God.
Your sins got between you so that he doesn’t hear.
Your hands are drenched in blood,
your fingers dripping with guilt,
Your lips smeared with lies,
your tongue swollen from muttering obscenities.
No one speaks up for the right,
no one deals fairly.
They trust in illusion, they tell lies,
they get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies.
They hatch snake eggs and weave spider webs.
Eat an egg and die; break an egg and get a snake!
The spider webs are no good for shirts or shawls.
No one can wear these weavings!
They weave wickedness,
they hatch violence.
They compete in the race to do evil
and run to be the first to murder.
They plan and plot evil, think and breathe evil,
and leave a trail of wrecked lives behind them.
They know nothing about peace
and less than nothing about justice.
They make tortuously twisted roads.
No peace for the wretch who walks down those roads!
9-11 Which means that we’re a far cry from fair dealing,
and we’re not even close to right living.
We long for light but sink into darkness,
long for brightness but stumble through the night.
Like the blind, we inch along a wall,
groping eyeless in the dark.
We shuffle our way in broad daylight,
like the dead, but somehow walking.
We’re no better off than bears, groaning,
and no worse off than doves, moaning.
We look for justice—not a sign of it;
for salvation—not so much as a hint.
12-15 Our wrongdoings pile up before you, God,
our sins stand up and accuse us.
Our wrongdoings stare us down;
we know in detail what we’ve done:
Mocking and denying God,
not following our God,
Spreading false rumors, whipping up revolt,
pregnant with lies, muttering malice.
Justice is beaten back,
Righteousness is banished to the sidelines,
Truth staggers down the street,
Honesty is nowhere to be found,
Good is missing in action.
Anyone renouncing evil is beaten and robbed.
15-19 God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon—
so much evil and no sign of Justice.
He couldn’t believe what he saw:
not a soul around to correct this awful situation.
So he did it himself, took on the work of Salvation,
fueled by his own Righteousness.
He dressed in Righteousness, put it on like a suit of armor,
with Salvation on his head like a helmet,
Put on Judgment like an overcoat,
and threw a cloak of Passion across his shoulders.
He’ll make everyone pay for what they’ve done:
fury for his foes, just deserts for his enemies.
Even the far-off islands will get paid off in full.
In the west they’ll fear the name of God,
in the east they’ll fear the glory of God,
For he’ll arrive like a river in flood stage,
whipped to a torrent by the wind of God.
20 “I’ll arrive in Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who leave their sins.”
God’s Decree.
21 “As for me,” God says, “this is my covenant with them: My Spirit that I’ve placed upon you and the words that I’ve given you to speak, they’re not going to leave your mouths nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your grandchildren. You will keep repeating these words and won’t ever stop.” God’s orders.
Isaiah 59
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Sin and Redemption
59 Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save,(A)
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(B) are separating you
from your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you(C)
so that he does not listen.(D)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4 No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.(E)
5 They hatch viper’s eggs
and weave spider’s webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7 Their feet run after evil,(F)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(G)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(H)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(I)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(J)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10 We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.(K)
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11 We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.(L)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before you,(M)
and our sins testify against us.(N)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(O)
13 transgression and deception against the Lord,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and he was offended.
16 He saw that there was no man –
he was amazed that there was no one interceding;(P)
so his own arm brought salvation,
and his own righteousness supported him.
17 He put on righteousness as body armour,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;(Q)
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.(R)
18 So he will repay according to their deeds:(S)
fury to his enemies,
retribution to his foes,
and he will repay the coasts and islands.
19 They will fear the name of the Lord in the west
and his glory in the east;[a](T)
for he will come like a rushing stream(U)
driven by the wind of the Lord.
20 ‘The Redeemer(V) will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.’(W)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 ‘As for me, this is my covenant with them,’(X) says the Lord: ‘My Spirit who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth,(Y) will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and for ever,’ says the Lord.
Footnotes
- 59:19 Lit sunrise
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 2024 by Holman Bible Publishers.