Isaiah 59

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 No, the arm of Yahweh is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear,	1 Behold, the hand of the Lord has not been shortened, so that it cannot save, and his ear has not been blocked, so that it cannot hear.
2 but your guilty deeds have made a gulf between you and your God. Your sins have made him hide hisface from you so as not to hear you,	2 But your iniquities have made a division between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you, so that he would not hear.
3 since your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with guilt; your lips utter lies, your tonguesmurmur wickedness.	3 For your hands have been polluted by blood, and your fingers by iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity.
4 No one makes upright accusations or pleads sincerely. Al rely on empty words, utter falsehood,conceive trouble and give birth to evil.	4 There is no one who calls for justice, and there is no one who judges truly. For they trust in nothing, and they speak emptiness. They have conceived hardship, and they have given birth to iniquity.
5 They are hatching adders' eggs and weaving a spider's web; eat one of their eggs and you die, crushone and a viper emerges.	5 They have ruptured the eggs of asps, and they have woven the webs of spiders. Whoever will eat of their eggs will die. For what has been incubated will hatch into a king snake.
6 Their webs are useless for clothing, their deeds are useless for wearing; their deeds are deeds of guilt,violence fil s their hands.	6 Their weavings will not be for clothing, nor will they cover themselves with their handiwork. Their works are useless things, and the work of iniquity is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to do evil; they are quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of guilt,wherever they go there is havoc and ruin.	7 Their feet run to evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are useless thoughts; devastation and destruction are in their ways.
8 They do not know the way of peace, there is no fair judgement in their course, they have made theirown crooked paths, and no one treading them knows any peace.	8 They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their steps. Their paths have become crooked for them. Anyone who treads in them knows no peace.
9 Thus fair judgement is remote from us nor can uprightness overtake us. We looked for light and all isdarkness, for brightness and we walk in gloom.	9 Because of this, judgment is far from us, and justice will not take hold of us. We waited for light, and behold, darkness; we waited for brightness, and we walked in darkness.
10 Like the blind we feel our way along walls, we grope our way like people without eyes. We stumble asthough noon were twilight, among the robust we are like the dead.	10 We groped for the wall, like one who is blind, and we felt our way, like one without eyes. We stumbled at midday, as if in darkness; and in darkness, as if in death.
11 We growl, al of us, like bears, like doves we make no sound but moaning, waiting for the fairjudgement that never comes, for salvation, but that is far away.	11 We will all roar like bears, and we will sigh like despondent doves. We hoped for judgment, and there is none; for salvation, and it is far from us.
12 How often we have rebel ed against you and our sins bear witness against us. Our rebellious acts areindeed with us, we are wel aware of our guilt:	12 For our iniquities have been multiplied in your sight, and our sins have answered us. For our wickedness is with us, and we have acknowledged our iniquities:
13 rebel ion and denial of Yahweh, turning our back on our God, talking violence and revolt, murmuringlies in our heart.	13 sinning and lying against the Lord. And we have turned away, not so as to go after our God, and so that we were speaking calumny and transgression. We have conceived, and spoken from the heart, words of falsehood.
14 Fair judgement is driven away and saving justice stands aloof, for good faith has stumbled in thestreet and sincerity cannot enter.	14 And judgment has been turned backwards, and justice has stood far away. For truth has fallen down in the street, and fairness was not able to enter.
15 Good faith has vanished; anyone abstaining from evil is victimised. Yahweh saw this and wasdispleased that there was no fair judgement.	15 And the truth has gone into oblivion. And he who withdraws from evil endures plunder. And the Lord saw this, and it seemed evil in his eyes. For there is no judgment.
16 He saw there was no one and wondered there was no one to intervene. So he made his own arm hismainstay, his own saving justice his support.	16 And he saw that there was no good man. And he was astonished that there was no one to meet him. And his own arm brought salvation to him, and his own justice strengthened him.
17 He put on saving justice like a breastplate, on his head the helmet of salvation. He put on the clothesof vengeance like a tunic and wrapped himself in jealousy like a cloak.	17 He clothed himself with justice as with a breastplate, and with a helmet of salvation upon his head. He put on the vestments of vengeance, and he was covered with zeal as with a cloak.
18 To each he repays his due, retribution to his enemies, reprisals on his foes, to the coasts and islandshe wil repay their due.	18 This was for vindication, as a repayment of indignation to his adversaries, and as a sudden reversal for his enemies. He will repay the islands in their turn.
19 From the west, Yahweh's name wil be feared, and from the east, his glory, for he will come like apent-up stream impel ed by the breath of Yahweh.	19 And those from the west will fear the name of the Lord, and those from the rising of the sun will fear his glory, when he arrives like a violent river, which the Spirit of the Lord urges on.
20 Then for Zion wil come a redeemer, for those who stop rebel ing in Jacob, declares Yahweh.	20 And the Redeemer will arrive in Zion, and to those who return from the iniquity within Jacob, says the Lord.
21 'For my part, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh. My spirit with which I endowed you, andmy words that I have put in your mouth, wil not leave your mouth, or the mouths of your children, or the mouthsof your children's children, says Yahweh, henceforth and for ever.'	21 This is my pact with them, says the Lord. My Spirit is within you, and my words, which I have put in your mouth, will not withdraw from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says the Lord, from this moment, and even forever.