1 L o, the hand of Jehovah Hath not been shortened from saving, Nor heavy his ear from hearing.
See, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save, and His ear is not closed that it cannot hear.
2 B ut your iniquities have been separating Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden The Presence from you -- from hearing.
But your wrong-doings have kept you away from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
3 F or your hands have been polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue perverseness doth mutter.
For your hands are sinful with blood, your fingers with wrong-doing, your lips have lied, and your tongue talks about sin.
4 T here is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.
No one wants what is right and fair in court. And no one argues his cause with the truth. They trust in what is false, and speak lies. They plan to make trouble and do what is sinful.
5 E ggs of a viper they have hatched, And webs of a spider they weave, Whoso is eating their eggs doth die, And the crushed hatcheth a viper.
They bring young ones from the eggs of deadly snakes and make traps as a spider does. He who eats of their eggs dies, and a snake comes out of the egg that is crushed.
6 T heir webs become not a garment, Nor do they cover themselves with their works, Their works works of iniquity, And a deed of violence in their hands.
Clothing cannot be made from the work of the spider, so they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of sin. They hurt others with their hands.
7 T heir feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed innocent blood, Their thoughts thoughts of iniquity, Spoiling and destruction in their highways.
And they are quick to sin and to kill people who are not guilty. Their thoughts are thoughts of sin. Wherever they go, they destroy and cause suffering.
8 A way of peace they have not known, And there is no judgment in their paths, Their paths they have made perverse for themselves, No treader in it hath known peace.
They know nothing about peace, and there is nothing fair in their paths. Their roads are not straight. Whoever walks on them does not know peace.
9 T herefore hath judgment been far from us, And righteousness reacheth us not, We wait for light, and lo, darkness, For brightness -- in thick darkness we go,
So what is right and fair is far from us. What is right and good does not come to us. We hope for light, but see darkness. We hope for bright light, but we walk in the dark.
10 W e feel like the blind the wall, Yea, as without eyes we feel, We have stumbled at noon as at twilight, In desolate places as the dead.
We feel for the wall like blind men. We feel our way like those who have no eyes. We trip at noon as in the night. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.
11 W e make a noise as bears -- all of us, And as doves we coo sorely; We wait for judgment, and there is none, For salvation -- it hath been far from us.
All of us make noise like bears, and cry inside ourselves like doves. We hope for what is right and fair, but it is not there. We hope to be saved, but it is far from us.
12 F or our transgressions have been multiplied before Thee, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions with us, And our iniquities -- we have known them.
For we have done much wrong before You, and our sins speak against us. Our wrong-doing is with us, and we know our sins.
13 T ransgressing, and lying against Jehovah, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostacy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.
We have gone against the Lord and have acted as if we do not know Him. We have turned away from our God. We have made it hard for others. We have thought and spoken lying words from the heart.
14 A nd removed backward is judgment, And righteousness afar off standeth, For truth hath been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,
What is right and fair is turned back. What is right and good stands far away. Truth has fallen in the street, and what is right cannot come in.
15 A nd the truth is lacking, And whoso is turning aside from evil, Is making himself a spoil. And Jehovah seeth, and it is evil in His eyes, That there is no judgment.
Yes, truth is not there. And he who turns away from sin comes under the anger of sinners. Now the Lord saw this, and it did not please Him to see that what is right and fair was not being done.
16 A nd He seeth that there is no man, And is astonished that there is no intercessor, And His own arm giveth salvation to Him, And His righteousness -- it sustained Him.
He saw and wondered that there was no man to speak up for what is right. Then His own arm brought saving power, and what is right with Him gave Him strength.
17 A nd He putteth on righteousness as a breastplate, And an helmet of salvation on His head, And He putteth on garments of vengeance clothing, And is covered, as an upper-robe, zeal.
Being right and good was His covering for His breast, saving power was His headcovering, clothing of anger was his covering, and His strong desires were like a coat.
18 A ccording to deeds -- so He repayeth. Fury to His adversaries, deed to His enemies, To the isles deed He repayeth.
He will pay them back for their works. He will send anger upon those who are against Him, and will punish those who hate Him. He will send punishment on the islands.
19 A nd they fear from the west the name of Jehovah, And from the rising of the sun -- His honour, When come in as a flood doth an adversary, The Spirit of Jehovah hath raised an ensign against him.
They will fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His shining-greatness from the rising of the sun. When the one who hates us comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a wall against him.
20 A nd come to Zion hath a redeemer, Even to captives of transgression in Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.
“The One Who saves from the punishment of sin will come to Zion, and He will come to those of Jacob who turn from their sinful ways,” says the Lord.
21 A nd I -- this My covenant with them, said Jehovah, My Spirit that on thee, And My words that I have put in thy mouth, Depart not from thy mouth, And from the mouth of thy seed, And from the mouth of thy seed's seed, said Jehovah, From henceforth unto the age!
“And as for Me, this is My agreement with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit which is upon you, and My Words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or the mouth of your children, or the mouth of your children’s children,” say the Lord, “from now and forever.”