Read Isaiah chapter 59 (Contemporary English Version) on maBible, the Bible online. In this chapter: Social Injustice Is Condemned, The People Confess Their Sins, The Lord Will Rescue His People.
1 The Lord hasn't lost his powerful strength; he can still hear and answer prayers.
2 Your sins are the roadblock between you and your God. That's why he doesn't answer your prayers or let you see his face.
3 Your talk is filled with lies and plans for violence; every finger on your hands is covered with blood.
4 You falsely accuse others and tell lies in court; sin and trouble are the names of your children.
5 You eat the deadly eggs of poisonous snakes, and more snakes crawl out from the eggs left to hatch. You weave spider webs,
6 but you can't make clothes with those webs or hide behind them. You're sinful and brutal.
7 You hurry off to do wrong or murder innocent victims. All you think about is sin; you leave ruin and destruction wherever you go.
8 You don't know how to live in peace or to be fair with others. The roads you make are crooked; your followers cannot find peace.
9 No one has come to defend us or to bring about justice. We hoped for a day of sunshine, but all we found was a dark, gloomy night.
10 We feel our way along, as if we were blind; we stumble at noon, as if it were night. We can see no better than someone dead.
11 We growl like bears and mourn like doves. We hope for justice and victory, but they escape us.
12 How often have we sinned and turned against you, the Lord God? Our sins condemn us! We have done wrong.
13 We have rebelled and refused to follow you. Our hearts were deceitful, and so we lied; we planned to abuse others and turn our backs on you.
14 Injustice is everywhere; justice seems far away. Truth is chased out of court; honesty is shoved aside.
15 Everyone tells lies; those who turn from crime end up ruined. When the Lord noticed that justice had disappeared, he became very displeased.
16 It disgusted him even more to learn that no one would do a thing about it. So with his own powerful arm, he won victories for truth.
17 Justice was the Lord's armor; saving power was his helmet; anger and revenge were his clothes.
18 Now the Lord will get furious and do to his enemies, both near and far, what they did to his people.
19 He will attack like a flood in a mighty windstorm. Nations in the west and the east will then honor and praise his wonderful name.
20 The Lord has promised to rescue the city of Zion and Jacob's descendants who turn from sin.
21 The Lord says: “My people, I promise to give you my Spirit and my message. These will be my gifts to you and your families forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.”