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59 Ecce non est abbreviata manus Domini, ut salvare nequeat, neque aggravata est auris ejus, ut non exaudiat.

Sed iniquitates vestrae diviserunt inter vos et Deum vestrum; et peccata vestra absconderunt faciem ejus a vobis, ne exaudiret.

Manus enim vestrae pollutae sunt sanguine, et digiti vestri iniquitate; labia vestra locuta sunt mendacium, et lingua vestra iniquitatem fatur.

Non est qui invocet justitiam, neque est qui judicet vere: sed confidunt in nihilo, et loquuntur vanitates; conceperunt laborem, et pepererunt iniquitatem.

Ova aspidum ruperunt, et telas araneae texuerunt. Qui comederit de ovis eorum, morietur; et quod confotum est, erumpet in regulum.

Telae eorum non erunt in vestimentum, neque operientur operibus suis; opera eorum opera inutilia, et opus iniquitatis in manibus eorum.

Pedes eorum ad malum currunt, et festinant ut effundant sanguinem innocentem; cogitationes eorum cogitationes inutiles: vastitas et contritio in viis eorum.

Viam pacis nescierunt, et non est judicium in gressibus eorum; semitae eorum incurvatae sunt eis: omnis qui calcat in eis, ignorat pacem.

Propter hoc elongatum est judicium a nobis, et non apprehendet nos justitia. Exspectavimus lucem, et ecce tenebrae; splendorem, et in tenebris ambulavimus.

10 Palpavimus sicut caeci parietem, et quasi absque oculis attrectavimus: impegimus meridie quasi in tenebris; in caliginosis quasi mortui.

11 Rugiemus quasi ursi omnes, et quasi columbae meditantes gememus: exspectavimus judicium, et non est; salutem, et elongata est a nobis.

12 Multiplicatae sunt enim iniquitates nostrae coram te, et peccata nostra responderunt nobis, quia scelera nostra nobiscum et iniquitates nostras cognovimus.

13 Peccare et mentiri contra Dominum, et aversi sumus ne iremus post tergum Dei nostri, ut loqueremur calumniam et transgressionem; concepimus et locuti sumus de corde verba mendacii.

14 Et conversum est retrorsum judicium, et justitia longe stetit, quia corruit in platea veritas, et aequitas non potuit ingredi.

15 Et facta est veritas in oblivionem, et qui recessit a malo, praedae patuit. Et vidit Dominus, et malum apparuit in oculis ejus, quia non est judicium.

16 Et vidit quia non est vir, et aporiatus est, quia non est qui occurrat; et salvavit sibi brachium suum, et justitia ejus ipsa confirmavit eum.

17 Indutus est justitia ut lorica, et galea salutis in capite ejus; indutus est vestimentis ultionis, et opertus est quasi pallio zeli:

18 sicut ad vindictam quasi ad retributionem indignationis hostibus suis, et vicissitudinem inimicis suis; insulis vicem reddet.

19 Et timebunt qui ab occidente nomen Domini, et qui ab ortu solis gloriam ejus, cum venerit quasi fluvius violentus quem spiritus Domini cogit;

20 et venerit Sion redemptor, et eis qui redeunt ab iniquitate in Jacob, dicit Dominus.

21 Hoc foedus meum cum eis, dicit Dominus: spiritus meus qui est in te, et verba mea quae posui in ore tuo, non recedent de ore tuo, et de ore seminis tui, et de ore seminis seminis tui, dicit Dominus, amodo et usque in sempiternum.

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)
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)
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.
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)
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.
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.
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)
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)

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