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Isaiah 59
Evangelical Heritage Version
Isaiah 59
Evangelical Heritage Version
Guilt Separates People From God
59
Listen to me! The Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 No, it is your guilt that has separated you from your God,
and your sins have hidden God’s face from you,
so that he does not hear.
3 Look, your hands are polluted with blood,
and your fingers drip guilt.
Your lips speak lies.
Your tongue mutters dishonesty.
4 No one calls for justice,
and no one argues his cases honestly.
They rely on empty arguments and commit perjury!
They conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness!
5 They hatch viper eggs,
and they weave spider webs.
Anyone who eats their eggs will die,
and a cracked egg hatches into a venomous snake.
6 They cannot make a garment from their webs,
and they will not be able to cover themselves with their deeds.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and violent actions fill their hands.
7 Their feet run to do evil,
and they hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are futile[a] thoughts.
Destruction and ruin are the destination of their highways.
8 They do not know the road to peace,
and there is no justice on the route they follow.
They made crooked paths for themselves.
No one who walks on them will experience peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but look, there is only darkness.
We hope for bright light, but we walk around in the darkest gloom.
10 We grope along a wall like blind men.
We grope like people with no eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
Among the healthy, we are like dead men.
11 We growl like bears—all of us—
and like doves we always mourn.
We hope for justice, but there is none.
We hope for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 Yes, our rebellious deeds are many before you,
and our sins testify against us.
Our rebellious deeds are with us,
and as for our guilty deeds, we are aware of them.
13 Those deeds are rebellion and treachery against the Lord.
We turn back from following our God.
We incite oppression and apostasy.
We conceive and mutter deceitful words from our hearts.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away,
for truth stumbles in the city square,
and honesty cannot enter it.
15 The truth is missing,
and anyone who turns from evil makes himself prey.[b]
The Lord looked and saw something evil—
there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one.
He was appalled that there was no one who could intervene.
So his own arm worked salvation for him,
and his own righteousness supported him.
17 He clothed himself with righteousness like armor
and wore a helmet of salvation on his head.
He dressed in garments for vengeance,
and he wrapped himself with zeal like a cloak.
18 He will repay in full what they have earned,
namely, wrath to his foes and full payment to his enemies.
He will repay even the distant coastlands.
19 From the west they will fear the Lord’s name,
and from the rising of the sun they will fear his glory,
for he will come like a raging river,
driven by the Spirit[c] of the Lord.
20 Then a redeemer will come for Zion
and for those in Jacob who turn from rebellion.
This is the declaration of the Lord.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord. My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouth of your offspring or from the mouth of their offspring, from this time forward and forever, says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 59:7 Or sinful
- Isaiah 59:15 Or pays the price
- Isaiah 59:19 Or wind or breath
Isaiah 59
New International Version
Isaiah 59
New International Version
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(A) of the Lord is not too short(B) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(C)
2 But your iniquities have separated(D)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(E)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(F)
your fingers with guilt.(G)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(H)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(I)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(J) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(K)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(L)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(M)
and spin a spider’s web.(N)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(O)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(P) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(Q)
They pursue evil schemes;(R)
acts of violence mark their ways.(S)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(T)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(U)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(V)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(W)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(X) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(Y) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(Z)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(AA)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(AB) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(AC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(AD)
13 rebellion(AE) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(AF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(AG)
uttering lies(AH) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(AI) is driven back,
and righteousness(AJ) stands at a distance;
truth(AK) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(AL) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(AM)
16 He saw that there was no one,(AN)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(AO)
so his own arm achieved salvation(AP) for him,
and his own righteousness(AQ) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(AR)
and the helmet(AS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(AT) of vengeance(AU)
and wrapped himself in zeal(AV) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(AW)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(AX) their due.
19 From the west,(AY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(AZ) they will revere his glory.(BA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(BB) of the Lord drives along.[a]
20 “The Redeemer(BC) will come to Zion,(BD)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(BE)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(BF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(BG) who is on you, will not depart from you,(BH) and my words that I have put in your mouth(BI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.