Isaiah 59:1-13
Isaiah 59:1-15 The Message (MSG)
Look! Listen! GOD’s arm is not amputated—he can still save. GOD’s ears are not stopped up—he can still hear. There’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you. Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God. Your sins got between you so that he doesn’t hear. Your hands are drenched in blood, your fingers dripping with guilt, Your lips smeared with lies, your tongue swollen from muttering obscenities. No one speaks up for the right, no one deals fairly. They trust in illusion, they tell lies, they get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies. They hatch snake eggs and weave spider webs. Eat an egg and die; break an egg and get a snake! The spider webs are no good for shirts or shawls. No one can wear these weavings! They weave wickedness, they hatch violence. They compete in the race to do evil and run to be the first to murder. They plan and plot evil, think and breathe evil, and leave a trail of wrecked lives behind them. They know nothing about peace and less than nothing about justice. They make tortuously twisted roads. No peace for the wretch who walks down those roads! Which means that we’re a far cry from fair dealing, and we’re not even close to right living. We long for light but sink into darkness, long for brightness but stumble through the night. Like the blind, we inch along a wall, groping eyeless in the dark. We shuffle our way in broad daylight, like the dead, but somehow walking. We’re no better off than bears, groaning, and no worse off than doves, moaning. We look for justice—not a sign of it; for salvation—not so much as a hint. Our wrongdoings pile up before you, God, our sins stand up and accuse us. Our wrongdoings stare us down; we know in detail what we’ve done: Mocking and denying GOD, not following our God, Spreading false rumors, whipping up revolt, pregnant with lies, muttering malice. Justice is beaten back, Righteousness is banished to the sidelines, Truth staggers down the street, Honesty is nowhere to be found, Good is missing in action. Anyone renouncing evil is beaten and robbed.
Isaiah 59:1-13 King James Version (KJV)
Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; in transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Isaiah 59:1-13 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness. No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth. Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And an act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men. All of us growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities: Transgressing and denying the LORD, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.
Isaiah 59:1-13 New Century Version (NCV)
Surely the LORD’s power is enough to save you. He can hear you when you ask him for help. It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you. With your hands you have killed others, and with your fingers you have done wrong. With your lips you have lied, and with your tongue you say evil things. People take each other to court unfairly, and no one tells the truth in arguing his case. They accuse each other falsely and tell lies. They cause trouble and create more evil. They hatch evil like eggs from poisonous snakes. If you eat one of those eggs, you will die, and if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out. People tell lies as they would spin a spider’s web. The webs they make cannot be used for clothes; you can’t cover yourself with those webs. The things they do are evil, and they use their hands to hurt others. They eagerly run to do evil, and they are always ready to kill innocent people. They think evil thoughts. Everywhere they go they cause ruin and destruction. They don’t know how to live in peace, and there is no fairness in their lives. They are dishonest. Anyone who lives as they live will never have peace. Fairness has gone far away; goodness is nowhere to be found. We wait for the light, but there is only darkness now. We hope for a bright light, but all we have is darkness. We are like the blind feeling our way along a wall. We feel our way as if we had no eyes. In the brightness of day we trip as if it were night. We are like dead men among the strong. All of us growl like the bears. We call out sadly like the doves. We look for justice, but there isn’t any. We want to be saved, but salvation is far away. We have done many wrong things against our God; our sins show we are wrong. We know we have turned against God; we know the evil things we have done: sinning and rejecting the LORD, turning away from our God, planning to hurt others and to disobey God, planning and speaking lies.
Isaiah 59:1-13 American Standard Version (ASV)
Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wickedness. None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace. Therefore is justice far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity. We grope for the wall like the blind; yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among them that are lusty we are as dead men. We roar all like bears, and moan sore like doves: we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them: transgressing and denying Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Isaiah 59:1-13 New International Version (NIV)
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead. We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
Isaiah 59:1-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places. We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Isaiah 59:1-13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save, Nor His ear so impaired That it cannot hear. But your wickedness has separated you from your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing]; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue mutters wickedness. No one sues righteously [but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage], and no one pleads [his case] in truth; [but rather] They trust in empty arguments and speak lies; They conceive trouble and bring forth injustice. They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s webs; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from an egg which is crushed a viper breaks out. Their webs will not serve as clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with what they make; Their works are works of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing], And the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, And they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing]; Devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks. They have made them into crooked paths; Whoever walks on them does not know peace. [Rom 3:15-18] ¶Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us. We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness; We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom. We grope for a wall like the blind, We grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; Among those who are healthy we are like dead men. We all groan and growl like bears, And coo sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O LORD], And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]: Rebelling against and denying the LORD, Turning away from [following] our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words.
Isaiah 59:1-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
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.
Isaiah 59:1-13 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Truly YAHWEH’s arm is not too powerless to save you nor his ear too deaf to hear. Rather, your sinful deeds have built a barrier between you and your God. Your sins have made God turn his face from you so that he does not hear your prayers. For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers are dripping with the guilt of sin. Lies spill from your lips and your tongue mutters treachery. No one seeks true justice; no one pleads his case with honesty. They rely on their illusions and misleading lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to sin. They hatch harmful plots like snake’s eggs and spin their lies like a spider spins its web. Whoever eats their “eggs” dies and a poisonous snake gets hatched! Their “webs” cannot substitute as clothing, they cannot cover themselves with the lies they spin, nor can their works cover them adequately. Their actions are evil, and the wages of violence is in their hands. Their feet eagerly run after evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their imaginations are filled with evil; destruction and desolation litter their paths. They know nothing of the way of peace, and injustice is their way of life. Their paths are so crooked that no one who walks in them knows peace. For this reason, justice is far from us and righteousness doesn’t reach us. We hope for light, but sadly, there is only darkness. We wait for a bright light, but walk in darkness. We are like the blind groping along a wall, inching along in the dark like those who cannot see; we stumble around in broad daylight like it was night, like the walking dead. We are frustrated, growling like bears, like doves cooing mournfully. We wait and wait for justice, but it never seems to come; for salvation, but it remains distant. For our many rebellious deeds are stacked high before you; our sins testify against us. We are aware of our sins, and we know our evil deeds all too well. We have rebelled and even tried to deny YAHWEH; we have forsaken our God. Our speech stirs up oppression and revolt, and our hearts conceive, then confess, lies.
Isaiah 59:1-13 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness. No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity. They hatch adders’ eggs; they weave the spider’s web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched. Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace. Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men. We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.