Isaiah 59:1-10 ▼

1 Look, the LORD's hand is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you.

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 For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words.

4 No one is concerned about justice; no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words and tell lies; they conceive of oppression and give birth to sin.

5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.

6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes.

7 They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy.

8 They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.

9 For this reason deliverance is far from us and salvation does not reach us. We wait for light, but see only darkness; we wait for a bright light, but live in deep darkness.

10 We grope along the wall like the blind, we grope like those who cannot see; we stumble at noontime as if it were evening. Though others are strong, we are like dead men.