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The way of peace they know not,
    and there is no justice on their paths;
Their roads they have made crooked,
    no one who walks in them knows peace.

Acknowledgment of Transgressions

[a]That is why judgment is far from us
    and justice does not reach us.
We look for light, but there is darkness;
    for brightness, and we walk in gloom!(A)
10 Like those who are blind we grope along the wall,
    like people without eyes we feel our way.
We stumble at midday as if at twilight,
    among the vigorous, we are like the dead.

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Footnotes

  1. 59:9–15 The turning point in the poem comes when the people acknowledge their transgressions and describe the horror of their present state. Light is a metaphor for salvation (cf. 9:1; 42:16; 60:1–3, 19–20) and darkness represents sin and disaster.

The way of peace they do not know;(A)
    there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(B)
    no one who walks along them will know peace.(C)

So justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(D)
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(E) we grope along the wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(F) as if it were twilight;
    among the strong, we are like the dead.(G)

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