59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak 1 to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you. 2
59:2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers. 3
59:3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, 4
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well. 5
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up 6 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 7
59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness 8 stands far off.
Indeed, 9 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
59:15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased, 10
for there is no justice.
1 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
2 tn Heb “or his ear too heavy [i.e., “dull”] to hear.”
3 tn Heb “and your sins have caused [his] face to be hidden from you so as not to hear.”
4 tn Heb “for many are our rebellious deeds before you.”
5 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] our rebellious deeds (are) with us, and our sins, we know them.”
6 tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
8 tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”
9 tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).
10 tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”