Isaiah 59

Sin Separates from God

¹Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.

²But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

³For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue mutters wickedness.

⁴No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

⁵They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

⁶Their webs won’t become garments. They won’t cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence are in their hands.

⁷Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Desolation and destruction are in their paths.

⁸They don’t know the way of peace; and there is no justice in their ways. They have made crooked paths for themselves; whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace.

⁹Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness doesn’t overtake us. We look for light, but see darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

¹⁰We grope for the wall like the blind. Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.

¹¹We all roar like bears and moan sadly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far off from us.

¹²For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

¹³transgressing and denying the LORD, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

¹⁴Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter.

¹⁵Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

¹⁶He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness sustained him.

¹⁷He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.

¹⁸According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate: wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. He will repay the islands their due.

¹⁹So they will fear the LORD’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the LORD’s breath drives.

²⁰“A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says the LORD.

²¹“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now on and forever.”

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Isaiah 59 confronts Israel's spiritual crisis by declaring that God's power to save remains unchanged, but the people's sins have created a barrier between them and their God. The chapter provides a detailed indictment of Israel's moral corruption, describing their violence, deception, and injustice through vivid metaphors of poisonous eggs and spider webs. When God sees that no human intercessor exists, He Himself becomes the warrior-redeemer, promising to come to Zion and establish His covenant with those who turn from transgression.

Context

This chapter continues the themes of judgment and restoration from chapters 56-58, serving as a bridge to the final section of Isaiah that emphasizes God's ultimate victory and renewal.

Key Themes

Outline

1-2
The Problem Identified God's power is unchanged, but sin has separated the people from Him
3-8
Catalog of Sins Detailed description of Israel's moral corruption through metaphors of violence and deception
9-15
Consequences of Sin The people confess their spiritual blindness and the absence of justice in society
16-19
God as Divine Warrior God arms Himself for battle when no human intercessor is found
20-21
Promise of Redemption A Redeemer will come to Zion and establish an eternal covenant

Sin Separates from God

59:1–59:21

prophecy solemn

Isaiah declares that sin separates people from God, cataloging Israel's moral failures while acknowledging their transgressions and need for divine intervention and justice.

quotation_chain

Isaiah 59:20's promise that "the Redeemer will come to Zion" becomes Paul's cornerstone in Romans 11:26 for arguing that "all Israel will be saved.

Insight Quotation Chain

Isaiah 59:20's promise that "the Redeemer will come to Zion" becomes Paul's cornerstone in Romans 11:26 for arguing that "all Israel will be saved.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Isaiah 59:2 3 references

Lexicals 3

Ezekiel 39:23 Lexical

The nations will know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they trespassed against m…

Isaiah 59

Sin Separates from God

Sin Separates from God

Insights

Cross-References

Isaiah 59:2 3 references

Isaiah 59:3 5 references

Isaiah 59:4 2 references

Isaiah 59:6 1 reference

Isaiah 59:7 5 references

Isaiah 59:9 3 references

Isaiah 59:12 5 references

Isaiah 59:14 2 references

Isaiah 59:16 1 reference

Isaiah 59:17 5 references

Isaiah 59:18 4 references

Isaiah 59:19 2 references

Isaiah 59:20 1 reference

Interlinear