| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1"See, the LORD's hand is not too short to save, nor are his ears too dull to hear. | 1Look, the LORD's hand is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you. |
| 2Instead, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you so that he won't listen. | 2But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers. |
| 3For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your tongue mutters wickedness. | 3For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words. |
| 4No one brings a lawsuit fairly, and no one goes to law honestly; they have relied on empty arguments and they tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity. | 4No 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. |
| 5They hatch adders' eggs and weave a spider's web; whoever eats their eggs dies, and any crushed egg hatches out futility. | 5They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched. |
| 6Their cobwebs cannot become clothing, they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are deeds of iniquity, and acts of violence fill their hands. | 6Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes. |
| 7Their feet rush to evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; ruin, destruction, and violence are in their paths. | 7They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy. |
| 8The pathway of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their courses. They have made their roads crooked; no one who walks in them will know peace." | 8They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. |
| 9"So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We wait for light, but look—there is darkness; we wait for brightness, but we walk in deep darkness. | 9For 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. |
| 10Let's grope along the wall like the blind; let us grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as if it were twilight, in desolate places like dead people. | 10We 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. |
| 11We all growl like bears; we sigh mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but there is none, and for deliverance, but it's far from us. | 11We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us. |
| 12"For our transgressions before you are many, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we acknowledge them: | 12For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, and our sins testify against us; indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds; we know our sins all too well. |
| 13they've rebelled in treachery against the LORD, and are turning away from following our God; and they've spoken oppression and revolt, and are conceiving lying words from the heart. | 13We have rebelled and tried to deceive the LORD; we turned back from following our God. We stir up oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. |
| 14I'll drive back justice, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth has fallen in the public square, and honesty cannot enter. | 14Justice is driven back; godliness stands far off. Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter. |
| 15Truth is missing, and whoever turns away from evil becomes a prey." "Then the LORD looked, and it displeased him that there was no justice. | 15Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The LORD watches and is displeased, for there is no justice. |
| 16He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm brought him victory, and his righteous acts upheld him. | 16He sees there is no advocate; he is shocked that no one intervenes. So he takes matters into his own hands; his desire for justice drives him on. |
| 17He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury like a cloak. | 17He wears his desire for justice like body armor, and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. He puts on the garments of vengeance and wears zeal like a robe. |
| 18So he will repay according to their action: Anger to his enemies, retribution to his foes; to the coastlands he will render their due. | 18He repays them for what they have done, dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries and punishing his enemies. He repays the coastlands. |
| 19So people will fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glories from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a pent-up stream that the breath of the LORD drives along. | 19In the west, people respect the LORD's reputation; in the east they recognize his splendor. For he comes like a rushing stream driven on by wind sent from the LORD. |
| 20"And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression," says the LORD. | 20"A protector comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds," says the LORD. |
| 21"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "And my Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, won't depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children's children, from now on and forever." | 21"As for me, this is my promise to them," says the LORD. "My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward," says the LORD. |
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