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.

The Glory of Zion

60 “Arise,(BJ) shine, for your light(BK) has come,
    and the glory(BL) of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness(BM) covers the earth
    and thick darkness(BN) is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
Nations(BO) will come to your light,(BP)
    and kings(BQ) to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you:
    All assemble(BR) and come to you;
your sons come from afar,(BS)
    and your daughters(BT) are carried on the hip.(BU)
Then you will look and be radiant,(BV)
    your heart will throb and swell with joy;(BW)
the wealth(BX) on the seas will be brought to you,
    to you the riches of the nations will come.
Herds of camels(BY) will cover your land,
    young camels of Midian(BZ) and Ephah.(CA)
And all from Sheba(CB) will come,
    bearing gold and incense(CC)
    and proclaiming the praise(CD) of the Lord.
All Kedar’s(CE) flocks will be gathered to you,
    the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings(CF) on my altar,(CG)
    and I will adorn my glorious temple.(CH)

“Who are these(CI) that fly along like clouds,(CJ)
    like doves to their nests?
Surely the islands(CK) look to me;
    in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[b](CL)
bringing(CM) your children from afar,
    with their silver and gold,(CN)
to the honor(CO) of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(CP) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.(CQ)

10 “Foreigners(CR) will rebuild your walls,
    and their kings(CS) will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
    in favor(CT) I will show you compassion.(CU)
11 Your gates(CV) will always stand open,
    they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations(CW)
    their kings(CX) led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve(CY) you will perish;
    it will be utterly ruined.(CZ)

13 “The glory of Lebanon(DA) will come to you,
    the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,(DB)
to adorn my sanctuary;(DC)
    and I will glorify the place for my feet.(DD)
14 The children of your oppressors(DE) will come bowing before you;
    all who despise you will bow down(DF) at your feet
and will call you the City(DG) of the Lord,
    Zion(DH) of the Holy One(DI) of Israel.

15 “Although you have been forsaken(DJ) and hated,
    with no one traveling(DK) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(DL)
    and the joy(DM) of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
    and be nursed(DN) at royal breasts.
Then you will know(DO) that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(DP)
    your Redeemer,(DQ) the Mighty One of Jacob.(DR)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,(DS)
    and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
    and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace(DT) your governor
    and well-being your ruler.(DU)
18 No longer will violence(DV) be heard in your land,
    nor ruin or destruction(DW) within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation(DX)
    and your gates Praise.(DY)
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,(DZ)
    and your God will be your glory.(EA)
20 Your sun(EB) will never set again,
    and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of sorrow(EC) will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous(ED)
    and they will possess(EE) the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,(EF)
    the work of my hands,(EG)
    for the display of my splendor.(EH)
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
    the smallest a mighty nation.(EI)
I am the Lord;
    in its time I will do this swiftly.”(EJ)

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit(EK) of the Sovereign Lord(EL) is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed(EM) me
    to proclaim good news(EN) to the poor.(EO)
He has sent me to bind up(EP) the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom(EQ) for the captives(ER)
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,[c]
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor(ES)
    and the day of vengeance(ET) of our God,
to comfort(EU) all who mourn,(EV)
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown(EW) of beauty
    instead of ashes,(EX)
the oil(EY) of joy
    instead of mourning,(EZ)
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting(FA) of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.(FB)

They will rebuild the ancient ruins(FC)
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
Strangers(FD) will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
And you will be called priests(FE) of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth(FF) of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

Instead of your shame(FG)
    you will receive a double(FH) portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit(FI) a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy(FJ) will be yours.

“For I, the Lord, love justice;(FK)
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant(FL) with them.
Their descendants(FM) will be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”(FN)

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices(FO) in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,(FP)
as a bridegroom adorns his head(FQ) like a priest,
    and as a bride(FR) adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
    and a garden(FS) causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness(FT)
    and praise spring up before all nations.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
  2. Isaiah 60:9 Or the trading ships
  3. Isaiah 61:1 Hebrew; Septuagint the blind

59 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.

10 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.

11 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.

12 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;

13 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.

14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.

19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.

21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

60 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee; The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 Whereas thou has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.

18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.