Isaiæ 59
1 Ecce non est abbreviata manus Domini ut salvare nequeat, neque aggravata est auris eius ut non exaudiat:
Behold, the hand of the Lord has not been shortened, so that it cannot save, and his ear has not been blocked, so that it cannot hear.
2 Sed iniquitates vestræ diviserunt inter vos et Deum vestrum, et peccata vestra absconderunt faciem eius a vobis ne exaudiret.
But your iniquities have made a division between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you, so that he would not hear.
3 Manus enim vestræ pollutæ sunt sanguine, et digiti vestri iniquitate: labia vestra locuta sunt mendacium, et lingua vestra iniquitatem fatur.
For your hands have been polluted by blood, and your fingers by iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity.
4 Non est qui invocet iustitiam, neque est qui iudicet vere: sed confidunt in nihilo, et loquuntur vanitates: conceperunt laborem, et pepererunt iniquitatem.
There is no one who calls for justice, and there is no one who judges truly. For they trust in nothing, and they speak emptiness. They have conceived hardship, and they have given birth to iniquity.
5 Ova aspidum ruperunt, et telas araneæ texuerunt: qui comederit de ovis eorum, morietur: et quod confotum est, erumpet in regulum.
They have ruptured the eggs of asps, and they have woven the webs of spiders. Whoever will eat of their eggs will die. For what has been incubated will hatch into a king snake.
6 Telæ eorum non erunt in vestimentum, neque operientur operibus suis: opera eorum opera inutilia, et opus iniquitatis in manibus eorum.
Their weavings will not be for clothing, nor will they cover themselves with their handiwork. Their works are useless things, and the work of iniquity is in their hands.
7 Pedes eorum ad malum currunt, et festinant ut effundant sanguinem innocentem, cogitationes eorum cogitationes inutiles: vastitas et contritio in viis eorum.
Their feet run to evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are useless thoughts; devastation and destruction are in their ways.
8 Viam pacis nescierunt, et non est iudicium in gressibus eorum. Semitæ eorum incurvatæ sunt eis: omnis qui calcat in eis, ignorat pacem.
They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their steps. Their paths have become crooked for them. Anyone who treads in them knows no peace.
9 Propter hoc elongatum est iudicium a nobis, et non apprehendet nos iustitia: expectavimus lucem, et ecce tenebræ: splendorem, et in tenebris ambulavimus.
Because of this, judgment is far from us, and justice will not take hold of us. We waited for light, and behold, darkness; we waited for brightness, and we walked in darkness.
10 Palpavimus sicut cæci parietem, et quasi absque oculis attrectavimus: impegimus meridie quasi in tenebris, in caliginosis quasi mortui.
We groped for the wall, like one who is blind, and we felt our way, like one without eyes. We stumbled at midday, as if in darkness; and in darkness, as if in death.
11 Rugiemus quasi ursi omnes, et quasi columbæ meditantes gememus. Expectavimus iudicium, et non est: salutem, et elongata est a nobis.
We will all roar like bears, and we will sigh like despondent doves. We hoped for judgment, and there is none; for salvation, and it is far from us.
12 Multiplicatæ sunt enim iniquitates nostræ coram te, et peccata nostra responderunt nobis. Quia scelera nostra nobiscum, et iniquitates nostras cognovimus,
For our iniquities have been multiplied in your sight, and our sins have answered us. For our wickedness is with us, and we have acknowledged our iniquities:
13 peccare et mentiri contra Dominum: et aversi sumus ne iremus post tergum Dei nostri, ut loqueremur calumniam et transgressionem: concepimus, et locuti sumus de corde verba mendacii.
sinning and lying against the Lord. And we have turned away, not so as to go after our God, and so that we were speaking calumny and transgression. We have conceived, and spoken from the heart, words of falsehood.
14 Et conversum est retrorsum iudicium, et iustitia longe stetit: quia corruit in platea veritas, et æquitas non potuit ingredi.
And judgment has been turned backwards, and justice has stood far away. For truth has fallen down in the street, and fairness was not able to enter.
15 Et facta est veritas in oblivionem: et qui recessit a malo, prædæ patuit: Et vidit Dominus, et malum apparuit in oculis eius, quia non est iudicium.
And the truth has gone into oblivion. And he who withdraws from evil endures plunder. And the Lord saw this, and it seemed evil in his eyes. For there is no judgment.
16 Et vidit quia non est vir: et aporiatus est, quia non est qui occurrat: et salvavit sibi brachium suum, et iustitia eius ipsa confirmavit eum.
And he saw that there was no good man. And he was astonished that there was no one to meet him. And his own arm brought salvation to him, and his own justice strengthened him.
17 Indutus est iustitia ut lorica, et galea salutis in capite eius: indutus est vestimentis ultionis, et opertus est quasi pallio zeli.
He clothed himself with justice as with a breastplate, and with a helmet of salvation upon his head. He put on the vestments of vengeance, and he was covered with zeal as with a cloak.
18 Sicut ad vindictam quasi ad retributionem indignationis hostibus suis, et vicissitudinem inimicis suis: insulis vicem reddet.
This was for vindication, as a repayment of indignation to his adversaries, and as a sudden reversal for his enemies. He will repay the islands in their turn.
19 Et timebunt qui ab Occidente, nomen Domini: et qui ab ortu solis, gloriam eius: cum venerit quasi fluvius violentus, quem Spiritus Domini cogit:
And those from the west will fear the name of the Lord, and those from the rising of the sun will fear his glory, when he arrives like a violent river, which the Spirit of the Lord urges on.
20 et venerit Sion Redemptor, et eis, qui redeunt ab iniquitate in Iacob, dicit Dominus.
And the Redeemer will arrive in Zion, and to those who return from the iniquity within Jacob, says the Lord.
21 Hoc fœdus meum cum eis, dicit Dominus: Spiritus meus, qui est in te, et verba mea, quæ posui in ore tuo, non recedent de ore tuo, et de ore seminis tui, et de ore seminis seminis tui, dicit Dominus, amodo et usque in sempiternum.
This is my pact with them, says the Lord. My Spirit is within you, and my words, which I have put in your mouth, will not withdraw from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says the Lord, from this moment, and even forever.
