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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

1. Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight

#### Cross references

1. Isaiah 59:1 : S Isa 41:20
2. Isaiah 59:1 : S Isa 50:2
3. Isaiah 59:1 : Isa 30:19; 58:9; 65:24
4. Isaiah 59:2 : Jer 5:25; Eze 39:23
5. Isaiah 59:2 : S Ps 18:41; S Isa 58:4; S Jer 11:11; S Jn 9:31
6. Isaiah 59:3 : S 2Ki 21:16; S Isa 1:15; S Eze 22:9
7. Isaiah 59:3 : Ps 7:3
8. Isaiah 59:3 : S Isa 3:8
9. Isaiah 59:4 : S Isa 5:23
10. Isaiah 59:4 : S Job 15:31
11. Isaiah 59:4 : S Isa 44:20
12. Isaiah 59:4 : S Job 4:8; S Isa 29:20; Jas 1:15
13. Isaiah 59:5 : S Isa 11:8; Mt 3:7
14. Isaiah 59:5 : S Job 8:14
15. Isaiah 59:6 : Isa 28:20
16. Isaiah 59:6 : S Ps 55:9; S Pr 4:17; S Isa 58:4
17. Isaiah 59:7 : S 2Ki 21:16; S Pr 6:17; S Mic 3:10
18. Isaiah 59:7 : S Pr 24:2; S Isa 26:10; Mk 7:21-22
19. Isaiah 59:7 : Ro 3:15-17*
20. Isaiah 59:8 : Ro 3:15-17*
21. Isaiah 59:8 : S Jdg 5:6
22. Isaiah 59:8 : S Isa 57:21; Lk 1:79
23. Isaiah 59:9 : S Job 19:8; S Ps 107:14; S Isa 5:30; S 8:20; S Lk 1:79
24. Isaiah 59:10 : Dt 28:29; S Isa 6:9-10; 56:10; La 4:14; Zep 1:17
25. Isaiah 59:10 : S Job 3:23; S Isa 8:15; Jn 11:9-10
26. Isaiah 59:10 : La 3:6
27. Isaiah 59:11 : S Ge 8:8; Ps 74:19; Isa 38:14; Jer 48:28; Eze 7:16; Na 2:7
28. Isaiah 59:12 : S Ezr 9:6; S Isa 57:12
29. Isaiah 59:12 : S Ge 4:7; S Isa 3:9; S Jer 2:19
30. Isaiah 59:12 : Ps 51:3
31. Isaiah 59:13 : Isa 46:8; 48:8
32. Isaiah 59:13 : S Nu 11:20; S Pr 30:9; Mt 10:33; Tit 1:16
33. Isaiah 59:13 : S Ps 12:5; S Isa 5:7
34. Isaiah 59:13 : S Isa 3:8; S 44:20; Mk 7:21-22
35. Isaiah 59:14 : S Isa 29:21
36. Isaiah 59:14 : S Isa 1:21
37. Isaiah 59:14 : S Isa 48:1; S Jer 33:16
38. Isaiah 59:15 : Jer 7:28; 9:5; Da 8:12
39. Isaiah 59:15 : S Isa 5:7
40. Isaiah 59:16 : S Isa 41:28
41. Isaiah 59:16 : S Isa 53:12
42. Isaiah 59:16 : S Isa 51:5
43. Isaiah 59:16 : Isa 45:8, 13; 46:13
44. Isaiah 59:17 : Eph 6:14; 1Th 5:8
45. Isaiah 59:17 : Eph 6:17; 1Th 5:8
46. Isaiah 59:17 : S Job 27:6; Isa 63:3
47. Isaiah 59:17 : S Isa 1:24
48. Isaiah 59:17 : S Isa 9:7; Eze 5:13
49. Isaiah 59:18 : S Lev 26:28; S Nu 10:35; S Isa 34:8; S Mt 16:27
50. Isaiah 59:18 : Isa 11:11; 41:5
51. Isaiah 59:19 : S Isa 49:12; S Mt 8:11
52. Isaiah 59:19 : S Ps 113:3
53. Isaiah 59:19 : Ps 97:6; S Isa 24:15; 35:2; 40:5; 52:10; 66:18
54. Isaiah 59:19 : S Isa 11:4
55. Isaiah 59:20 : S Job 19:25; Isa 60:16; 63:16
56. Isaiah 59:20 : S Isa 52:8; S Joel 3:21
57. Isaiah 59:20 : S Job 22:23; S Isa 1:27; S Jer 35:15; Ac 2:38-39; Ro 11:26-27*
58. Isaiah 59:21 : S Ge 9:16; S Dt 29:14; S Isa 42:6
59. Isaiah 59:21 : S Isa 11:2; S 44:3
60. Isaiah 59:21 : S Jos 1:8
61. Isaiah 59:21 : S Ex 4:15

New International Version (NIV)

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