Separation from God

59 Behold, (A)the Lords hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
(B)Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
But your (C)wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His [a]face from you so that He does (D)not hear.
For your (E)hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with wrongdoing;
Your lips have spoken (F)deceit,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
(G)No one sues righteously and (H)no one pleads [b]honestly.
They (I)trust in confusion and speak lies;
They (J)conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
They hatch vipers’ eggs and (K)weave the spider’s web;
The one who eats of their eggs dies,
And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.
Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they (L)cover themselves with their works;
Their (M)works are works of wrongdoing,
And an (N)act of violence is in their [c]hands.
(O)Their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed innocent blood;
(P)Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing,
Devastation and destruction are in their paths.
They do not know the (Q)way of peace,
And there is (R)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
(S)Whoever walks on [d]them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness

Therefore (T)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not reach us;
We (U)hope for light, but there is darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We (V)grope for the wall like people who are blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We (W)stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are (X)like the dead.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (Y)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (Z)justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (AA)wrongful acts have multiplied before You,
And our (AB)sins have testified against us;
For our wrongful acts are with us,
And [e]we know our wrongdoings:
13 [f]Offending and (AC)denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking (AD)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and (AE)uttering lying words from the heart.
14 (AF)Justice is turned back,
And (AG)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
And one who turns aside from evil (AH)makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was [g]displeasing in His sight (AI)that there was no justice.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:2 As in ancient versions; MT faces
  2. Isaiah 59:4 Lit in truth
  3. Isaiah 59:6 Lit palms
  4. Isaiah 59:8 Lit it
  5. Isaiah 59:12 Lit our wrongdoings we know them
  6. Isaiah 59:13 Or Revolting against and
  7. Isaiah 59:15 Or evil

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