Isaiah 59

1Look, the LORD's hand is not too short to save you. His ear is not too dull to hear you.

2But your sins have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you, so He does not hear you.

3Your hands are stained with blood. Your fingers are stained with sin. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue has whispered evil.

4No one asks for justice. No one speaks up for the truth. They trust in empty words and tell lies. They plan trouble and give birth to sin.

5They hatch the eggs of poisonous snakes. They weave spider webs. Anyone who eats their eggs will die. When an egg is crushed, a viper comes out.

6Their webs cannot be made into clothes. They cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their work is sinful work. Their hands are full of violent acts.

7Their feet run toward evil. They hurry to shed the blood of innocent people. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts. Ruin and destruction are on their roads.

8They do not know the way of peace. There is no justice in their steps. They have made their roads crooked. No one who walks on them will know peace.

9So justice stays far from us. What is right does not catch up to us. We wait for light, but we see only darkness. We wait for brightness, but we walk in the dark.

10We feel along the wall like blind people. We feel our way like people with no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were night. We are in lonely places like dead people.

11We growl like bears. We moan sadly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none. We look for rescue, but it is far from us.

12Our sins are many before You. Our sins speak against us. Our sins are with us, and we know our wrongs.

13We have sinned and lied against the LORD. We have turned away from our God. We have spoken cruel and rebellious words. We have thought up lies in our hearts and spoken them.

14Justice is turned back. What is right stands far away. Truth has fallen in the street. Honesty cannot enter.

15Truth is gone. Anyone who turns away from evil becomes a target. The LORD saw this, and He was displeased that there was no justice.

16The LORD saw that there was no one to help. He was amazed that no one stepped in. So His own arm brought rescue. His own goodness held Him up.

17He put on goodness like armor on His chest. He put the helmet of rescue on His head. He put on the clothes of punishment. He wrapped Himself in burning devotion like a coat.

18He will pay them back for what they have done. His enemies will feel His anger. Even the faraway lands will receive their payment.

19People from the west will fear the name of the LORD. People from the east will fear His glory. The enemy will come in like a flood. Then the Spirit of the LORD will raise a banner against him.

20The LORD says: The Redeemer will come to Zion. He will come to the people in Jacob who turn away from their sins.

21The LORD says: This is My agreement with them. My Spirit is on you. My words are in your mouth. They will not leave your mouth. They will not leave the mouths of your children or your children's children. This will last from now on, forever.