1 Beholde, the Lordes hande is not shortened, that it can not saue: neither is his eare heauie, that it cannot heare. 2 But your iniquities haue separated betweene you and your God, and your sinnes haue hidde his face from you, that he will not heare. 3 For your handes are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquitie: your lips haue spoken lies and your tongue hath murmured iniquitie. 4 No man calleth for iustice: no man contendeth for trueth: they trust in vanitie, and speake vaine things: they conceiue mischiefe, and bring foorth iniquitie. 5 They hatch cockatrice egges, and weaue the spiders webbe: he that eateth of their egges, dieth, and that which is trode vpon, breaketh out into a serpent. 6 Their webbes shall be no garment, neither shall they couer themselues with their labours: for their workes are workes of iniquitie, and the worke of crueltie is in their handes. 7 Their feete runne to euill, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are wicked thoughts: desolation and destruction is in their paths. 8 The way of peace they knowe not, and there is none equitie in their goings: they haue made them crooked paths: whosoeuer goeth therein, shall not knowe peace. 9 Therefore is iudgement farre from vs, neither doeth iustice come neere vnto vs: we waite for light, but loe, it is darkenesse: for brightnesse, but we walke in darkenesse. 10 Wee grope for the wall like the blinde, and we grope as one without eyes: we stumble at the noone day as in the twilight: we are in solitarie places, as dead men. 11 We roare all like beares, and mourne like dooues: wee looke for equitie, but there is none: for health, but it is farre from vs. 12 For our trespasses are many before thee, and our sinnes testifie against vs: for our trespasses are with vs, and we knowe our iniquities 13 In trespassing and lying against the Lord, and wee haue departed away from our God, and haue spoken of crueltie and rebellion, conceiuing and vttering out of the heart false matters. 14 Therefore iudgement is turned backewarde, and iustice standeth farre off: for trueth is fallen in the streete, and equitie cannot enter. 15 Yea, trueth faileth, and hee that refraineth from euill, maketh himselfe a praye: and when the Lord sawe it, it displeased him, that there was no iudgement. 16 And when he sawe that there was no man, hee wondered that none woulde offer him selfe. Therefore his arme did saue it, and his righteousnes it selfe did sustaine it. 17 For he put on righteousnes, as an habergeon, and an helmet of saluation vpon his head, and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeale as a cloke. 18 As to make recompence, as to requite the furie of the aduersaries with a recompence to his enemies: he will fully repaire the ylands. 19 So shall they feare the Name of the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sunne: for the enemie shall come like a flood: but the Spirit of the Lord shall chase him away. 20 And the Redeemer shall come vnto Zion, and vnto them that turne from iniquitie in Iaakob, saith the Lord. 21 And I will make this my couenant with them, saith the Lord. My Spirit that is vpon thee, and my wordes, which I haue put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seede, nor out of the mouth of the seede of thy seede, saith the Lord, from hencefoorth euen for euer.
The Prophet Condemns the People's Sins
1 Don't think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help! 2 It is because of your sins that he doesn't hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him. 3 You are guilty of lying, violence, and murder.
4 You go to court, but you do not have justice on your side. You depend on lies to win your case. You carry out your plans to hurt others. 5-6 The evil plots you make are as deadly as the eggs of a poisonous snake. Crush an egg, out comes a snake! But your plots will do you no good—they are as useless as clothing made of cobwebs! 7 You are always planning something evil, and you can hardly wait to do it. You never hesitate to murder innocent people. You leave ruin and destruction wherever you go, 8 and no one is safe when you are around. Everything you do is unjust. You follow a crooked path, and no one who walks that path will ever be safe.
The People Confess Their Sin
9 The people say, “Now we know why God does not save us from those who oppress us. We hope for light to walk by, but there is only darkness, 10 and we grope about like blind people. We stumble at noon, as if it were night, as if we were in the dark world of the dead. 11 We are frightened and distressed. We long for God to save us from oppression and wrong, but nothing happens.
12 “Lord, our crimes against you are many. Our sins accuse us. We are well aware of them all. 13 We have rebelled against you, rejected you, and refused to follow you. We have oppressed others and turned away from you. Our thoughts are false; our words are lies. 14 Justice is driven away, and right cannot come near. Truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty finds no place there. 15 There is so little honesty that those who stop doing evil find themselves the victims of crime.”
The Lord Prepares to Rescue His People
The Lord has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice. 16 He is astonished to see that there is no one to help the oppressed. So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory. 17 He will wear justice like a coat of armor and saving power like a helmet. He will clothe himself with the strong desire to set things right and to punish and avenge the wrongs that people suffer. 18 He will punish his enemies according to what they have done, even those who live in distant lands. 19 From east to west everyone will fear him and his great power. He will come like a rushing river, like a strong wind.
20 The Lord says to his people, “I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins. 21 And I make a covenant with you: I have given you my power and my teachings to be yours forever, and from now on you are to obey me and teach your children and your descendants to obey me for all time to come.”