Isaiah 59

Isaiah Chapter 59
Warnings Against Sin

Listen! The Lord's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too
Deaf to hear you call. It's your sins that have cut you off from God
Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore
Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy
With sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews
Corruption. No one cares about being fair and honest; the people'
S lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then
Give birth to sin. They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders'
Webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will
Hatch a viper. Their webs can't be made into clothing, and nothing

They do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin
And violence is their trademark. Their feet run to do evil, and
They rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery
And destruction always follow them; they don't know where to find
Peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out
Crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment's peace

So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right
Living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright
Skies but walk in gloom. We grope like the blind along a wall
Feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime
We stumble as though it were dark. Among the living we
Are like the dead. We growl like hungry bears; we moan
Like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never
Comes; we look for rescue, but it is far away from us

For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us
Yes, we know what sinners we are. We know we have rebelled and have
Denied the Lord; we have turned our backs on our God. We know how
Unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful
Lies. Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to
Be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been
Outlawed. Yes, truth is gone, and
Anyone who renounces evil is attacked

The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. He
Was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So
He himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his
Justice sustained him. He put on righteousness as his body armor and
Placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with
A robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion
He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall
On his foes; he will pay them back even to the ends of the earth

In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord. In the east
They will glorify him, for he will come like a raging
Flood tide, driven by the breath of the Lord. The
Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in
Israel who have turned from their sins, says the Lord

And this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: My Spirit will
Not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you
They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children
And your children's children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken