Isaiah 57:14-59:21

Contemporary English Version

^15 (A) Our holy God lives forever
in the highest heavens,
    and this is what he says:
Though I live high above
    in the holy place,
I am here to help those
who are humble
    and depend only on me.

¹⁶ My people, I won't stay angry
    and keep on accusing you.
After all, I am your Creator.
I don't want you to give up
    in complete despair.
¹⁷ Your greed made me furious.
That's why I punished you
    and refused to be found,
while you kept returning
    to your old sinful ways.

¹⁸ I know what you are like!
But I will heal you, lead you,
    and give you comfort,
until those who are mourning
^{19     (B)} start singing my praises.^[a]
No matter where you are,
I, the Lord, will heal you^[b]
    and give you peace.

²⁰ The wicked are a restless sea
    tossing up mud.
^21 (C) But I, the Lord, have promised
that none who are evil
    will live in peace.

³ You wonder why the Lord
    pays no attention
when you go without eating
    and act humble.
But on those same days
    that you give up eating,
you think only of yourselves^[c]
    and abuse your workers.
⁴ You even get angry
    and ready to fight.
No wonder God won't listen
    to your prayers!

⁵ Do you think the Lord
    wants you to give up eating
and to act as humble
    as a bent-over bush?
Or to dress in sackcloth
    and sit in ashes?
Is this really what he wants
    on a day of worship?

⁶ I'll tell you
what it really means
    to worship the Lord.
Remove the chains of prisoners
    who are bound unjustly.
Free those who are abused!
^7 (D) Share your food with everyone
    who is hungry;
share your home
    with the poor and homeless.
Give clothes to those in need;
don't turn away your relatives.

⁸ Then your light will shine
like the dawning sun, and you
    will quickly be healed.
Your honesty^[d] will protect you
    as you advance,
and the glory of the Lord
    will defend you from behind.
⁹ When you beg the Lord for help,
    he will answer, “Here I am!”

Don't mistreat others
or falsely accuse them
    or say something cruel.
¹⁰ Give your food to the hungry
    and care for the homeless.
Then your light will shine
    in the dark;
your darkest hour will be
    like the noonday sun.

¹¹ The Lord will always guide you
and provide good things to eat
    when you are in the desert.
He will make you healthy.
You will be like a garden
    that has plenty of water
or like a stream
    that never runs dry.
¹² You will rebuild those houses
    left in ruins for years;
you will be known
as a builder and repairer
    of city walls and streets.

¹³ But first, you must start
respecting the Sabbath
    as a joyful day of worship.
You must stop doing and saying
whatever you please
    on this special day.
¹⁴ Then you will truly enjoy
    knowing the Lord.
He will let you rule
    from the highest mountains
and bless you with the land
of your ancestor Jacob.
    The Lord has spoken!

³ Your talk is filled with lies
    and plans for violence;
every finger on your hands
    is covered with blood.
⁴ You falsely accuse others
    and tell lies in court;
sin and trouble are the names
    of your children.
⁵ You eat the deadly eggs
    of poisonous snakes,
and more snakes crawl out
    from the eggs left to hatch.
You weave spider webs,
⁶ but you can't make clothes
    with those webs
    or hide behind them.

You're sinful and brutal.
^7 (E) You hurry off to do wrong
    or murder innocent victims.
All you think about is sin;
you leave ruin and destruction
    wherever you go.
⁸ You don't know how
to live in peace
    or to be fair with others.
The roads you make are crooked;
your followers cannot find peace.

¹¹ We growl like bears
    and mourn like doves.
We hope for justice and victory,
    but they escape us.
¹² How often have we sinned
and turned against you,
    the Lord God?
Our sins condemn us!
    We have done wrong.
¹³ We have rebelled and refused
    to follow you.
Our hearts were deceitful,
    and so we lied;
we planned to abuse others
    and turn our backs on you.

¹⁴ Injustice is everywhere;
    justice seems far away.
Truth is chased out of court;
    honesty is shoved aside.
¹⁵ Everyone tells lies;
those who turn from crime
    end up ruined.

¹⁸ Now the Lord will get furious
    and do to his enemies,
both near and far,
    what they did to his people.
¹⁹ He will attack like a flood
    in a mighty windstorm.
Nations in the west and the east
will then honor and praise
    his wonderful name.
^20 (H) The Lord has promised to rescue
    the city of Zion
and Jacob's descendants
    who turn from sin.

²¹ The Lord says: “My people,
I promise to give you my Spirit
    and my message.
These will be my gifts to you
    and your families forever.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”