New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Isaiah 59
1
People of Israel, the Lord's arm is not too weak to save you. His ears aren't too deaf to hear your cry for help.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 50:2
Isaiah 65:24
Matthew 13:15
Isaiah 6:10
References Lord
Jeremiah 32:17
Numbers 11:23
Genesis 18:14
Isaiah 58:9
Salvation
Hebrews 7:25
Isaiah 63:1
2
But your sins have separated you from your God. They have caused him to turn his face away from you. So he won't listen to you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 15:29
Micah 3:4
Isaiah 1:15
Isaiah 58:4
References God
Ezekiel 39:29
Sin
Jeremiah 5:25
Isaiah 57:17
Joshua 7:11
Isaiah 50:1
3
Your hands and fingers are stained with blood. You are guilty of committing murder. Your mouth has told lies. Your tongue says evil things.
Reference
Blood
Isaiah 1:15
Jeremiah 2:34
Ezekiel 35:6
Ezekiel 7:23
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 13:8
Isaiah 1:21
Jeremiah 2:30
Jeremiah 7:8
Hosea 7:13
Sin
Ezekiel 9:9
4
People aren't fair when they present their cases in court. They aren't honest when they state their case. They depend on weak arguments. They tell lies. They plan to make trouble. Then they carry it out.
Reference
Faith
Jeremiah 7:8
Jeremiah 7:4
Isaiah 30:12
Psalm 62:10
Parallel theme
Job 15:35
Proverbs 4:16
Righteousness
Isaiah 59:16
Sin
James 1:15
Micah 2:1
Isaiah 59:3
5
The plans they make are like the eggs of poisonous snakes. Anyone who eats those eggs will die. When one of them is broken, a snake comes out.
Reference
6
Those people weave their evil plans together like a spider's web. But the webs they make can't be used as clothes. They can't cover themselves with what they make. Their acts are evil. They do things to harm others.
Reference
7
They are always in a hurry to sin. They run quickly to murder those who aren't guilty. Their thoughts are evil. They leave a trail of suffering and pain.
Reference
8
They don't know how to live at peace with others. What they do isn't fair. They lead twisted lives. No one who lives like that will enjoy peace and rest.
Reference
9
We aren't being treated fairly. We haven't been set free yet. The God who always does what is right hasn't come to help us. We look for light. But we see nothing but darkness. We look for brightness. But we walk in deep shadows.
Reference
10
Like blind people we feel our way along the wall. We are like those who can't see. At noon we trip and fall as if the sun had already set. Compared to those who are healthy, we are like dead people.
Reference
11
All of us growl like hungry bears. We cry like sad doves. We want the Lord to do what is fair and save us. But he doesn't do it. We long for him to set us free. But the time for that seems far away.
Reference
12
That's because we've done so many things he considers wrong. Our sins prove that we are guilty. The wrong things we've done are always troubling us. We admit that we have sinned.
Reference
13
We've refused to obey the Lord. We've made evil plans against him. We've turned our backs on our God. We've stirred up trouble and refused to follow him. We've told lies that came from our own minds.
Reference
References God
Hebrews 3:12
14
So people stop others from doing what is fair. They keep them from doing what is right. No one tells the truth in court anymore. No one is honest there.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 5:31
Amos 5:11
Righteousness
Habakkuk 1:4
Isaiah 5:23
Isaiah 1:21
Ecclesiastes 3:16
Isaiah 59:4
Amos 5:7
15
In fact, truth can't be found anywhere. Those who refuse to do evil are attacked. The Lord sees that people aren't treating others fairly. That makes him unhappy.
Reference
16
He sees that there is no one who helps his people. He is shocked that no one stands up for them. So he will use his own powerful arm to save them. He has the strength to do it because he is holy.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 22:30
Isaiah 64:7
Psalm 98:1
Isaiah 41:28
Psalm 106:23
Mark 6:6
Isaiah 50:2
Salvation
Isaiah 52:10
17
He will put the armor of holiness on his chest. He'll put the helmet of salvation on his head. He'll pay people back for the wrong things they do. He'll wrap himself in anger as if it were a coat.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 10:30
Isaiah 51:9
John 2:17
Righteousness
Ephesians 6:14
Isaiah 11:5
Revelation 19:11
Isaiah 9:7
Job 29:14
Salvation
Ephesians 6:17
1 Thessalonians 5:8
18
He will pay his enemies back for what they have done. He'll pour his anger out on them. He'll punish those who attack him. He'll give the people in the islands what they have coming to them.
Reference
19
People in the west will show respect for the Lord's name. People in the east will worship him because of his glory. The Lord will come like a rushing river that was held back. His breath will drive it along.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 7:27
Revelation 12:10
References Lord
Psalm 22:27
Sin
Psalm 113:3
Malachi 1:11
Spirit
Zechariah 4:6
20
"I set my people free. I will come to Mount Zion. I will come to those in Jacob's family who turn away from their sins," announces the Lord.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 40:9
Acts 3:26
Acts 26:20
References Lord
Hebrews 12:14
Joel 2:32
Daniel 9:13
Sin
Acts 3:19
21
"Here is the covenant I will make with them," says the Lord. "My Spirit is on you. I have put my words in your mouth. They will never leave your mouth. And they will never leave the mouths of your children or their children after them. That will be true for all time to come," says the Lord.
Reference
Covenant
Hebrews 10:16
Isaiah 55:3
Isaiah 49:8
Parallel theme
John 4:14
Spirit
Isaiah 44:3
Romans 8:9
John 3:34
John 7:39
2 Corinthians 3:8
Word
Isaiah 51:16
Summary of Isaiah 59
Isaiah 59 explains why God's people are experiencing separation from Him, beginning with an important clarification: God's hand is not too weak to save and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
The problem is not God's inability.
The problem is human sin.
Isaiah describes a society deeply affected by violence, dishonesty, injustice, false accusations, corruption, and rebellion against God.
The people's hands are stained with wrongdoing, their words are filled with lies, and their legal systems have become corrupted.
Instead of seeking truth and justice, people pursue empty arguments and destructive plans.
Isaiah uses several vivid images to describe the consequences.
Their sinful plans are like poisonous eggs and spider webs.
They produce things that are dangerous but cannot provide real protection or security.
Their feet run toward violence, their thoughts are filled with wrongdoing, and the paths they create do not lead to peace.
The people eventually recognize the seriousness of their condition.
They admit that justice and salvation are far away, and they describe themselves as stumbling in darkness like blind people.
They hope for light, but their own actions have created darkness.
Their confession becomes increasingly detailed.
They acknowledge rebellion against God, deception, dishonesty, injustice, and rejection of truth.
One of the strongest images in the chapter is that truth has fallen in the streets.
Justice has been pushed away, righteousness cannot enter, and even people who attempt to turn away from evil may become vulnerable.
This describes more than individual sin.
It portrays an entire society in which corruption has become so widespread that normal structures of justice can no longer correct it.
God sees the situation and finds that there is no human person capable of bringing the necessary justice and salvation.
Therefore, God Himself intervenes.
Isaiah describes Him using the imagery of a warrior wearing righteousness as a breastplate and salvation as a helmet.
God comes to confront evil, judge wrongdoing, and rescue those who turn back to Him.
The chapter therefore moves from human failure to divine intervention.
God will repay people according to their actions, but His purpose is not only judgment.
A Redeemer will come to Zion for those who turn away from rebellion.
The final verse expands the promise into the future, declaring that God's covenant, Spirit, and words will remain with His people and their descendants.
The central message is that the distance between God and His people is caused not by God's weakness or unwillingness to save but by human sin, injustice, violence, and rejection of truth; however, when human institutions and individuals fail to bring justice, God Himself acts as Redeemer and Judge, bringing salvation to those who turn from rebellion and establishing a lasting covenant through which His Spirit and His word remain with His people across generations.
The problem is not God's inability.
The problem is human sin.
Isaiah describes a society deeply affected by violence, dishonesty, injustice, false accusations, corruption, and rebellion against God.
The people's hands are stained with wrongdoing, their words are filled with lies, and their legal systems have become corrupted.
Instead of seeking truth and justice, people pursue empty arguments and destructive plans.
Isaiah uses several vivid images to describe the consequences.
Their sinful plans are like poisonous eggs and spider webs.
They produce things that are dangerous but cannot provide real protection or security.
Their feet run toward violence, their thoughts are filled with wrongdoing, and the paths they create do not lead to peace.
The people eventually recognize the seriousness of their condition.
They admit that justice and salvation are far away, and they describe themselves as stumbling in darkness like blind people.
They hope for light, but their own actions have created darkness.
Their confession becomes increasingly detailed.
They acknowledge rebellion against God, deception, dishonesty, injustice, and rejection of truth.
One of the strongest images in the chapter is that truth has fallen in the streets.
Justice has been pushed away, righteousness cannot enter, and even people who attempt to turn away from evil may become vulnerable.
This describes more than individual sin.
It portrays an entire society in which corruption has become so widespread that normal structures of justice can no longer correct it.
God sees the situation and finds that there is no human person capable of bringing the necessary justice and salvation.
Therefore, God Himself intervenes.
Isaiah describes Him using the imagery of a warrior wearing righteousness as a breastplate and salvation as a helmet.
God comes to confront evil, judge wrongdoing, and rescue those who turn back to Him.
The chapter therefore moves from human failure to divine intervention.
God will repay people according to their actions, but His purpose is not only judgment.
A Redeemer will come to Zion for those who turn away from rebellion.
The final verse expands the promise into the future, declaring that God's covenant, Spirit, and words will remain with His people and their descendants.
The central message is that the distance between God and His people is caused not by God's weakness or unwillingness to save but by human sin, injustice, violence, and rejection of truth; however, when human institutions and individuals fail to bring justice, God Himself acts as Redeemer and Judge, bringing salvation to those who turn from rebellion and establishing a lasting covenant through which His Spirit and His word remain with His people across generations.