Sin's Consequences and God's Redeeming Intervention
Isaiah 59:1-21
Isa.59.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הן: PART
- לא: PART_NEG
- קצרה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- יד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מהושיע: PREP+VERB,hifil,inf
- ולא: CONJ
- כבדה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אזנו: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- משמוע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isa.50.2 (verbal): Uses the same rhetorical language about whether God's hand is 'shortened' / unable to save—almost identical Hebraic phrasing and the question of God's power to deliver.
- Isa.59.2 (structural): Immediate literary and theological contrast: v.1 affirms God's ability to save; v.2 explains that human sinfulness, not divine incapacity, has caused separation from God.
- Jer.32.27 (verbal): God's challenge 'Is there anything too hard for me?' (or its equivalent) echoes the theme that the Lord's power is not limited—verbal/thematic parallel about divine omnipotence.
- Gen.18.14 (thematic): Abraham's question 'Is anything too hard for the LORD?' parallels the idea that God’s ability to act/save is not curtailed—same theological emphasis on divine omnipotence.
- Job 42.2 (thematic): Job's confession 'I know that you can do all things' reflects the same theme that God's power is unlimited and his hand is not too short to save.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, the hand of the LORD is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear.
- Behold, the hand of the LORD is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear.
Isa.59.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- עונתיכם: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מבדלים: VERB,hiph,ptc,0,m,pl
- בינכם: PREP
- לבין: PREP
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- וחטאותיכם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cs
- הסתירו: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,pl
- פנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- משמוע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:15 (verbal): Both passages speak of God 'hiding his face' and not answering prayer because of the people's sins; close verbal and thematic parallel within Isaiah.
- Micah 3:4 (thematic): States that when people cry to the LORD he will not answer but will hide his face from them because of their evil deeds—same causal link between sin and divine withdrawal.
- Psalm 66:18 (Heb. 65:18) (verbal): Expresses the principle that holding or regarding iniquity prevents God from hearing prayer—parallels Isaiah's claim that sin causes separation and unheard prayer.
- Ezekiel 8:18 (verbal): Describes God refusing to hear the cries of the people and hiding his face because of their abominations—closely parallels the language and consequence found in Isa 59:2.
- Psalm 30:7 (Heb. 29:8) (thematic): The psalmist reports that God 'hid his face' leading to distress; thematically resonates with Isaiah's motif of divine hiding in response to distressing moral conditions.
Alternative generated candidates
- But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
- But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Isa.59.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- כפיכם: NOUN,f,pl,poss
- נגאלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בדם: PREP
- ואצבעותיכם: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,2mp
- בעון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שפתותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs,2mp
- דברו: INF,qal,inf+3ms
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשונכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2mp
- עולה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תהגה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Prov.6.16-19 (verbal): Lists among abominations “hands that shed innocent blood,” directly echoing the charge that the people's hands are defiled with blood.
- Isa.1.15-16 (structural): Isaiah earlier connects outstretched hands and ritual activity with divine rejection because of moral corruption—parallels the motif of defiled hands and hypocrisy.
- Ps.5.9 (thematic): Complains of mouths without faithfulness and tongues that flatter/deceive, corresponding to Isaiah’s accusation that lips speak lies and the tongue devises wickedness.
- Jer.22.17 (thematic): Condemns pursuit of dishonest gain and shedding of innocent blood, thematically parallel to hands defiled with blood and iniquitous deeds.
- Matt.15.18-19 (allusion): Jesus teaches that evil words proceed from the heart and list evil actions (murder, false witness, slander), reflecting Isaiah’s link between inner wickedness and corrupt speech/acts.
Alternative generated candidates
- For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.
- For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue mutters wickedness.
Isa.59.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אין: PART,neg
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בצדק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- נשפט: VERB,nifal,perf,3,m,sg
- באמונה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בטוח: ADJ,m,sg
- על: PREP
- תהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ודבר: VERB,qal,fut,3,m,sg
- שוא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והוליד: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:14 (structural): Immediate context: repeats the theme that justice and truth are absent—'justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; truth has stumbled'—echoing 'no one calls for justice, no one pleads for truth.'
- Isaiah 1:23 (thematic): Condemns corrupt leaders who take bribes and 'do not defend the rights of the fatherless,' reflecting the broader charge of a society without justice or faithfulness.
- Micah 3:11 (thematic): Accuses rulers, priests, and prophets of perverting justice for gain ('they judge for a bribe'), paralleling Isaiah's depiction of an absence of righteous judgment and truth.
- Psalm 12:1-3 (verbal): Laments that 'no one is faithful' and that 'everyone lies to his neighbor,' resonating with Isaiah's 'no one pleads for truth' and the prevalence of empty words and falsehood.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Charges the people with turning 'justice into wormwood'—a poetic denunciation of distorted justice and moral failure akin to Isaiah's complaint about absent justice and prevailing iniquity.
Alternative generated candidates
- No one calls for justice, and no one pleads for truth; they rely on emptiness and speak falsehood; they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.
- No one calls for justice, no one pleads for truth; they rely on emptiness and speak lies— they hatch trouble and give birth to iniquity.
Isa.59.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ביצי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- צפעוני: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בקעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וקורי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- עכביש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יארגו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- האכל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מביציהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
- ימות: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- והזורה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- תבקע: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- אפעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 140:3 (verbal): Uses the image of venomous speech—'They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips'—paralleling Isaiah's 'hatching adders' eggs' and the theme of evil issuing forth like venom.
- Deuteronomy 32:33 (verbal): Speaks of 'their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps,' echoing Isaiah's serpent/venom imagery to describe destructive, death-dealing consequences of wickedness.
- Proverbs 23:32 (thematic): Compares the effect of folly or sin to a serpent's sting—'at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder'—resonating with Isaiah's idea that what is produced by the wicked brings death.
- Job 20:16 (verbal): Describes the wicked 'sucking the poison of asps' and being bitten by vipers—language closely parallel to Isaiah's hatching of adders' eggs and the deathly outcome of consuming them.
- Job 8:14-15 (thematic): Uses the image of a spider's web to signify fragile or deceptive trust—'their confidence is a spider's web'—paralleling Isaiah's 'spider's web they weave' motif of fragile, ensnaring evil.
Alternative generated candidates
- They hatch adders' eggs and weave the spider’s web; the one who eats of their eggs will die, and when they are crushed a viper is hatched.
- They hatch viper eggs and weave spiderwebs; whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is crushed a viper is hatched.
Isa.59.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- קוריהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- לא: PART_NEG
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לבגד: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- ולא: CONJ
- יתכסו: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,pl
- במעשיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- מעשיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,pl
- מעשי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופעל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- חמס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בכפיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Isaiah 64:6 (verbal): Uses clothing imagery to describe the insufficiency/filthiness of human deeds—'our righteous acts are like filthy rags' parallels 'their works shall not become garments.'
- Isaiah 1:15-17 (thematic): Condemns religious acts and outward forms when hands are 'full of blood' (violence); connects the theme that sinful deeds and violence invalidate outward covering/ritual.
- Matthew 23:27-28 (allusion): Jesus condemns hypocritical outward appearance that conceals inner corruption—'whitewashed tombs'—parallel to works that cannot 'cover' or justify the wickedness in their hands.
- Romans 3:10-12 (thematic): Paul's citation of Scripture about universal wickedness ('no one does good') echoes Isaiah's portrayal of deeds as iniquity and the futility of relying on works.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their web will not become a garment, nor will they cover themselves with what they have made; their deeds are deeds of wickedness, and acts of violence are in their hands.
- Their webs cannot become clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they have made. Their works are works of iniquity; deeds of violence are in their hands.
Isa.59.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- רגליהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,m,pl
- לרע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ירצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- וימהרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לשפך: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נקי: ADJ,m,sg
- מחשבותיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
- מחשבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושבר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במסלותם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:3 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: earlier verses describe defiled hands and language of violence and deceit, framing v.7's depiction of feet eager to do evil and shed innocent blood.
- Genesis 6:5 (thematic): God says every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually—closely parallels Isaiah's claim that their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.
- Romans 3:15-17 (verbal): Paul echoes Isaiah almost verbatim—'their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways'—using the same language to describe human depravity.
- Psalm 36:1-4 (thematic): Describes the wicked whose transgression speaks from the heart and who plot evil without fear of God, paralleling Isaiah's link between corrupt inner thought and violent action.
- Matthew 23:29-35 (allusion): Jesus condemns those responsible for the shedding of righteous blood (prophets, righteous ones), reflecting the prophetic theme of societal violence against the innocent found in Isaiah 59:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their feet hasten to do evil; they run to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity—ruin and destruction are in their ways.
- Their feet run to evil; they hasten to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing—ruin and destruction mark their ways.
Isa.59.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במעגלותם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss3,m,pl
- נתיבותיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss3,m,pl
- עקשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Romans 3:17 (quotation): Paul quotes Isaiah's line about 'the way of peace they have not known' (Rom 3:17) as part of his citation of Israel's unrighteousness (cf. Isa 59:8).
- Isaiah 59:9 (structural): Immediate context: continues the same complaint about lack of justice and light—justice is far off and righteousness does not overtake them, developing the theme of crooked paths and absence of peace.
- Isaiah 59:14-15 (thematic): Develops the same theme: 'justice is turned back... truth is fallen in the street'—explaining why there is no way of peace and why paths are corrupt and unsettled.
- Isaiah 48:22 (thematic): 'There is no peace, says the LORD, for the wicked' echoes the Isaianic theme that wickedness produces the absence of peace (paralleling the declaration that they do not know the way of peace).
- Jeremiah 6:14 (verbal): Jeremiah's denunciation 'Peace, peace, when there is no peace' resonates with Isa 59:8's assertion that people 'do not know the way of peace'—both condemn false assurance and the absence of true peace due to moral failure.
Alternative generated candidates
- They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their paths; their roads are crooked—whoever walks in them has not known peace.
- They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their courses; their paths are crooked—whoever walks in them does not know peace.
Isa.59.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- רחק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תשיגנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- צדקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נקוה: VERB,qal,impf,1,na,pl
- לאור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והנה: ADV
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לנגהות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- באפלות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נהלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:10 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same thought—contrast of hoped-for light with prevailing darkness; continues the verbal imagery of walking in gloom.
- Lamentations 3:2-3 (thematic): Speaks of being driven to walk in darkness rather than light, echoing Isaiah's motif of expectation of light met by darkness and gloom.
- Proverbs 4:18-19 (thematic): Juxtaposes the path of the righteous as light and the way of the wicked as darkness, paralleling Isaiah's use of light/darkness to represent righteousness versus moral failure.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Condemns the perversion/absence of justice and righteousness—resonant with Isaiah's lament that justice is far removed and righteousness does not overtake the people.
- Romans 3:10-12 (thematic): Paul's depiction of universal unrighteousness ('none righteous... no one seeks God') parallels Isaiah's assertion that justice and righteousness are lacking among the people.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we look for light, and behold darkness; for brightness, and we walk in gloom.
- Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hoped for light, but behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
Isa.59.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- נגששה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כעורים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- קיר: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- וכאין: CONJ+ADV
- עינים: NOUN,f,du,abs
- נגששה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כשלנו: PREP+VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- בצהרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כנשף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- באשמנים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כמתים: PREP+ADJ,m,pl
Parallels
- Job 5:14 (verbal): Job (Eliphaz) uses nearly identical language: people ‘meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night,’ a close verbal and thematic parallel about stumbling in broad daylight.
- Isaiah 29:10 (allusion): Isaiah speaks elsewhere of God pouring out a 'spirit of deep sleep' that blinds eyes and dulls minds—an explanation for the collective blindness and groping described in 59:10.
- Romans 11:8 (quotation): Paul quotes/echoes Isaiah (cf. 29:10) about God giving a 'spirit of stupor' so eyes would not see—an NT reflection on the same motif of spiritual blindness and groping.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 (thematic): Paul describes unbelievers as having blinded minds ('the god of this world has blinded the minds…'), a New Testament thematic parallel emphasizing spiritual inability to see/truth.
- Deuteronomy 28:28 (thematic): In the covenant curses Israel is warned of afflictions including madness and blindness—an OT legal/thematic background for imagery of blindness and stumbling as divine judgment or consequence.
Alternative generated candidates
- We grope for the wall like the blind; we feel our way like those without eyes; at midday we stumble as in twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.
- We groped like the blind along a wall, and like those without eyes; we groped at noon as in the twilight; we stumbled as the dying and were like men without strength.
Isa.59.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- נהמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כדבים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כלנו: PRON,1,pl
- וכיונים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הגה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- נהגה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- נקוה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- למשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- לישועה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רחקה: ADJ,f,sg
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:9 (structural): Immediate context within the same chapter: the people describe groaning, groping like the blind and seeking justice/salvation that is absent—continuation of the lament and moral diagnosis.
- Habakkuk 1:2-4 (thematic): Prophetic lament over pervasive violence and injustice and the apparent delay of divine intervention—parallels the complaint 'we seek justice but there is none; for salvation, but it is far'.
- Psalm 10:1 (thematic): The psalmist asks why God stands far off and hides in times of trouble, echoing the theme that deliverance/salvation seems distant.
- Psalm 44:23-26 (thematic): A communal plea for God to awake and vindicate his people when they suffer and seem without help—parallels the cry for justice and salvation that are not forthcoming.
Alternative generated candidates
- We all growl like bears and moan like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
- We all groan like bears, and moan like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
Isa.59.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- רבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- פשעינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,1p
- נגדך: PREP+PRON,2,ms
- וחטאותינו: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,1p
- ענתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- כי: CONJ
- פשעינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,1p
- אתנו: PRON,1,pl
- ועונתינו: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,1p
- ידענום: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 90:8 (verbal): Uses similar language of God’s knowledge/setting of our iniquities before Him (‘You have set our iniquities before you’), echoing the idea that sins are present before God.
- Psalm 130:3-4 (thematic): Expresses the same conviction that if God ‘marked’ or counted iniquities no one could stand, implying our sins testify against us and plead for divine forgiveness.
- Daniel 9:5-14 (structural): A communal confession recalling multiplied transgressions and corporate guilt before God; both passages are penitential admissions that sins are known and weigh upon the people.
- Romans 3:19-20 (thematic): Speaks to universal guilt and the law’s function to make sin known so that ‘every mouth may be stopped’—paralleling the assertion that our sins testify against us.
- Hebrews 4:13 (thematic): Affirms that nothing is hidden from God and all are exposed to His sight, resonating with Isaiah’s claim that transgressions are ‘before you’ and are known.
Alternative generated candidates
- For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:
- For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities we know.
Isa.59.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- פשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכחש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- ונסוג: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מאחר: PREP
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וסרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- הרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- והגו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:3-4 (structural): Immediate context: lists the sins that have separated the people from God—oppression, deceit and false speech—continuing the same catalogue of perversity as v.13.
- Psalm 12:2-3 (verbal): Accuses people of speaking 'vanity' and with 'a double heart' while flattering; closely parallels Isaiah's charge of speaking falsehood and deceitful words.
- Jeremiah 9:5-6 (thematic): Speaks of universal deceit—'everyone deceives his neighbor' and 'no one speaks the truth'—echoing Isaiah’s theme of pervasive falsehood and turning from God.
- Proverbs 6:16-19 (verbal): Lists hated behaviours including a 'lying tongue' and a 'heart that devises wicked schemes,' paralleling Isaiah’s condemnation of inner perversity and outward false speech.
- Romans 3:13-14 (allusion): Paul cites OT images of corrupt speech ('their throat is an open grave,' 'their tongues practice deceit') to describe human unrighteousness, reflecting the same motif of pervasive falsehood found in Isaiah 59:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- transgression and deceit have reached the LORD; they have turned aside and withdrawn from following our God. They utter oppression and revolt; they devise and speak falsehood from the heart.
- Transgression and rebellion against the LORD, turning away from following our God—speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Isa.59.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והסג: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אחור: ADV
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וצדקה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מרחוק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תעמד: VERB,qal,juss,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- כשלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ברחוב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונכחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תוכל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לבוא: VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:15-16 (structural): Immediate continuation: the chapter explains why judgment and righteousness are absent and then God’s intervention—directly follows and completes the idea that justice is turned back and truth has fallen.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Condemns those who ‘turn justice into wormwood’—a parallel accusation that social justice has been perverted and corrupted, echoing Isaiah’s image of judgment and righteousness being displaced.
- Micah 3:9-11 (thematic): Denounces leaders who practice unjust judgments and accept bribes, preventing justice for the people—parallels Isaiah’s complaint that equitable justice cannot come forth in the streets.
- Psalm 82:2-4 (verbal): ‘How long will you judge unjustly? Rescue the weak and needy’—language about failing judges and the need for justice resonates with Isaiah’s charge that truth has fallen and equity cannot enter.
- Matthew 23:23 (allusion): Jesus rebukes religious leaders for neglecting justice and mercy while observing ritual law—thematically echoes Isaiah’s critique of a society where justice and righteousness are absent.
Alternative generated candidates
- And judgment is turned back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth has stumbled in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter.
- And justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off; for truth has stumbled in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter.
Isa.59.15 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- האמת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- נעדרת: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- וסר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מרע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משתולל: VERB,hitpael,ptcp,-,m,sg
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וירע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בעיניו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Micah 7:2 (thematic): Speaks of the absence of the faithful and the lack of upright people in the land, echoing Isaiah’s theme that truth/faithfulness is gone and justice is missing.
- Jeremiah 5:1 (thematic): Urges a search for a righteous person in the streets of Jerusalem and finds none—parallel concern with the apparent disappearance of justice and truth.
- Habakkuk 1:4 (verbal): Complains that law and justice are perverted/withheld, closely paralleling Isaiah’s observation that judgment and justice are absent.
- Psalm 12:1 (verbal): “The faithful have vanished”/“the godly man ceaseth,” a lament about the failure of faithfulness/truth like Isaiah’s statement that truth has fallen.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Denounces the twisting of justice (turning righteousness into wormwood) and social corruption—the same indictment of a society bereft of true justice.
Alternative generated candidates
- And truth is lacking; he who turns from evil makes himself a prey; the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.
- Truth is lacking, and he who turns from evil makes himself prey; the LORD saw, and it was displeasing in his sight that there was no justice.
Isa.59.16 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישתומם: VERB,hithpael,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- מפגיע: VERB,piel,part,m,sg,abs
- ותושע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- זרעו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- וצדקתו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prsfx=3,m,sg
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- סמכתהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg,obj=3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 63:5-6 (quotation): Nearly identical language — God ‘looked, and there was none to help;’ therefore his own arm brought salvation. Direct repetition/recapitulation of the same idea.
- Exodus 2:23-25 (thematic): The people cry out, God ‘looked upon’ their affliction and remembered his covenant — theme of God noticing there is no helper and then acting to save by his own power.
- Psalm 10:12-14 (thematic): The psalmist asks why God stands afar off, then notes God sees the helplessness of the afflicted and will not forget — parallels the observation that no intercessor was present and God must himself intervene.
- Romans 3:25-26 (thematic): Paul emphasizes God’s righteousness and the means by which he justifies/saves — echoes Isaiah’s link between God’s saving action and the sustaining effect of his righteousness.
- Hebrews 7:25 (allusion): Declares Christ ‘is able to save completely’ and continually intercedes for believers — presents intercession as the means of salvation, contrasting Isaiah’s observation that when no human intercessor was found God acted by his own arm.
Alternative generated candidates
- He saw that there was no one, and was astonished that there was no intercessor; therefore his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.
- He saw that there was no one, and was astonished that there was no intercessor; therefore his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness sustained him.
Isa.59.17 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וילבש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- צדקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כשרין: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וכובע: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בראשו: PREP,3,m,sg
- וילבש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בגדי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- נקם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תלבשת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויעט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כמעיל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קנאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Eph.6:14-17 (verbal): Explicitly borrows the military-armor imagery — 'breastplate of righteousness' and 'helmet of salvation' echo Isaiah's language; both passages present moral/eschatological virtues as protective armor.
- 1 Thess.5:8 (verbal): Uses the same pair of images — 'breastplate of faith and love' (variant 'righteousness' in some readings) and 'helmet of the hope of salvation' — closely paralleling Isaiah's breastplate/helmet motif.
- Isa.59:16 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding verse describes God's intervention ('his own arm brought salvation'), linking that action with the clothing-imagery of v.17 and providing the narrative setting for the metaphor.
- Isa.11:5 (thematic): Speaks of righteousness and faithfulness as garments/belt for the coming ruler ('righteousness shall be the belt of his loins'), reflecting the prophetic theme of moral qualities personified as clothing.
- Rom.13:12-14 (thematic): Paul exhorts believers to 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ' and 'put on the armor of light,' continuing the biblical motif of clothing virtues/virtue-like protection in moral and eschatological exhortation.
Alternative generated candidates
- He clothed himself with righteousness as a breastplate and put on a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped himself in zeal as a mantle.
- He put on righteousness like a breastplate and wore a helmet of salvation on his head; he clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal like a cloak.
Isa.59.18 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כעל: PREP
- גמלות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- כעל: PREP
- ישלם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- חמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לצריו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- גמול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאיביו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss3,m
- לאיים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- גמול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישלם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (quotation): Explicit declaration 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay'—a direct verbal parallel emphasizing that God himself repays wrongs, matching Isaiah's theme of divine recompense.
- Romans 12:19 (quotation): Paul cites Deut.32:35 ('Vengeance is mine; I will repay') to stress that God will repay, echoing Isaiah's assertion that God renders recompense to enemies.
- Romans 2:6 (verbal): 'God...will render to each one according to his deeds' parallels Isaiah's opening formula 'according to their deeds,' linking divine judgment to human actions.
- Psalm 94:1-2 (thematic): A plea for the God of vengeance to arise against wicked adversaries; thematically matches Isaiah's portrayal of God repaying enemies and executing justice.
- Isaiah 63:4 (allusion): Within the same prophetic corpus, 'the day of vengeance is in my heart' connects directly to Isaiah 59:18's emphasis on God's recompense and wrath toward foes.
Alternative generated candidates
- According to their deeds, so will he repay—wrath to his foes, recompense to his enemies; to the coastlands he will repay.
- He will repay to his enemies according to their deeds; to his foes he will give full requital—wrath to those who oppose him, recompense to his adversaries.
Isa.59.19 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וייראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ממערב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- שם: ADV
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וממזרח: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- כבודו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כנהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נססה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 113:3 (verbal): Both texts speak of the LORD's name/glory being acknowledged from the rising of the sun to its setting—universal recognition from east to west, echoing Isa.59:19's 'from the west... from the east.'
- Isaiah 59:20 (structural): Immediate sequel to v.19: the coming of the LORD is followed by the promise of a Redeemer to Zion and salvation for God's people, continuing the same scene.
- Isaiah 66:15-16 (verbal): Uses whirlwind/chariot imagery for the LORD's coming ('chariots like a whirlwind'), parallel to Isa.59:19's depiction of the LORD coming 'as a rushing stream' driven by his wind.
- Nahum 1:8 (thematic): Portrays God's visitation as an overflowing flood that makes an end of enemies—parallels Isa.59:19's 'rushing stream' imagery for divine intervention.
- Zechariah 8:23 (thematic): Foretells nations turning to and acknowledging Israel's God ('we will go with you... for we have heard that God is with you'), resonating with Isa.59:19's theme of peoples fearing the LORD from west and east.
Alternative generated candidates
- They will fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing river, which the wind of the LORD drives.
- They will fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for the LORD will come like a rushing stream, driven by his own breath.
Isa.59.20 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ובא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לציון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גואל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולשבי: PREP+PTCP,qal,ptc,mp
- פשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ביעקב: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Romans 11:26-27 (quotation): Paul quotes Isaiah 59:20–21 directly: 'The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob,' and links it to God's covenant to remove their sins.
- Psalm 14:7 (verbal): Both texts envision salvation arising from Zion for Israel/Jacob ('Oh that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion'), echoing the motif of a deliverer for the people.
- Isaiah 59:21 (structural): The immediate continuation of 59:20 in the same oracle: God declares a covenant, his Spirit and words remaining with the redeemed—expanding on the Redeemer's purpose and promise.
- Isaiah 52:7 (thematic): Announces good news and salvation to Zion ('How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news'), thematically parallel to the coming of a Redeemer to Zion.
Alternative generated candidates
- And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the LORD.
- A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the LORD.
Isa.59.21 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- ודברי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,1cs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שמתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בפיך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- ימושו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מפיך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- ומפי: PREP
- זרעך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ומפי: PREP
- זרע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זרעך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מעתה: ADV
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 (verbal): God promises to give a new heart and put his Spirit within people so they will follow his statutes—paralleling Isaiah's promise that God's Spirit and his words will remain in the people and their descendants.
- Jeremiah 31:33-34 (thematic): The new covenant language—God putting his law in their inward parts and remembering sins no more—echoes Isaiah's covenantal promise that God's word and presence will abide with the people forever.
- Joel 2:28-29 (verbal): A promise to pour out God's Spirit on the people (and their offspring); resonates with Isaiah's declaration that 'my Spirit which is upon you' will not depart.
- Acts 2:16-21 (quotation): Peter cites Joel's Spirit-outpouring prophecy at Pentecost, applying the theme of God's abiding Spirit and covenantal renewal to the inaugurated people of God—connecting to Isaiah's promise of enduring words and Spirit among descendants.
Alternative generated candidates
- And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my Spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your children's offspring—declares the LORD— from now on and forever.
- And I—this is my covenant with them, declares the LORD: my Spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your children's offspring, says the LORD—from this time and forevermore.
Behold — the hand of the LORD is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he does not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, and your tongue utters deceit.
No one calls for justice, and no one pleads for faithfulness; they rely on emptiness and speak lies, they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.
They hatch viper’s eggs and weave a spider’s web; whoever eats of their eggs will die, and what is hatched from their brood is a viper.
Their web will not become a garment, nor will it cover them with what they have made; their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
Their feet rush to do evil; they hasten to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity — ruin and destruction are in their ways.
They do not know the way of peace; there is no justice in their tracks. Their paths they have made crooked; every road they take has no peace.
Therefore justice is far from us and righteousness does not overtake us; we look for light, but behold darkness; for brightness, we walk in gloom.
We grope along the wall like the blind; we feel our way as if we had no eyes; at midday we stumble as in twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.
All of us growl like bears, moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for deliverance, but it is far from us.
For our transgressions are multiplied before you, our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them.
Rebellion and treachery are against the LORD; we have turned away from following our God. They make oppression and revolt their practice; from the heart they utter words of falsehood. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter.
Truth is lacking, and the one who turns from evil makes himself a prey; the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.
Then the LORD saw that there was no one, and was astonished that there was no intercessor; so his own arm brought salvation for him, and his righteousness sustained him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head; he clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
He will repay fury to his foes and requital to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render recompense.
From the west they will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun his glory; for he will come like a rushing stream, driven on by the Spirit of the LORD.
A redeemer will come to Zion — to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the LORD. And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my Spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says the LORD, from this time forth and forever.