Isaiah 59:12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:

◄ Isaiah 59:12 ►

New International Version
For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:

New Living Translation
For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are.

English Standard Version
For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:

Berean Standard Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:

King James Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;

New King James Version
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:

New American Standard Bible
For our wrongful acts have multiplied before You, And our sins have testified against us; For our wrongful acts are with us, And we know our wrongdoings:

NASB 1995
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities:

NASB 1977
For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities:

Legacy Standard Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins answer against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities:

Amplified Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O LORD], And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]:

Christian Standard Bible
For our transgressions have multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For our transgressions have multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:

American Standard Version
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

Contemporary English Version
How often have we sinned and turned against you, the LORD God? Our sins condemn us! We have done wrong.

English Revised Version
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You are aware of our many rebellious acts. Our sins testify against us. Our rebellious acts are with us. We know our wrongdoings.

Good News Translation
"LORD, our crimes against you are many. Our sins accuse us. We are well aware of them all.

International Standard Version
"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:

Majority Standard Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:

NET Bible
For 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.

New Heart English Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

Webster's Bible Translation
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;

World English Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
For our transgressions have been multiplied before You, "" And our sins have testified against us, "" For our transgressions [are] with us, "" And our iniquities—we have known them.

Young's Literal Translation
For our transgressions have been multiplied before Thee, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions are with us, And our iniquities -- we have known them.

Smith's Literal Translation
For our transgressions were multiplied before thee, and our sins answered against us: for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities we knew them.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
For our iniquities are multiplied before thee, and our sins have testified against us: for our wicked doings are with us, and we have known our iniquities:

Catholic Public Domain Version
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:

New American Bible
For our transgressions before you are many, our sins bear witness against us. Our transgressions are present to us, and our crimes we acknowledge:

New Revised Standard Version
For our transgressions before you are many, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions indeed are with us, and we know our iniquities:

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; our iniquities are with us, and our sins are well known:

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because our evil abounds before you, and our sins testify, because our evil is with us and we know our sins

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are present to us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For our iniquity is great before thee, and our sins have risen up against us: for our iniquities are in us, and we know our unrighteous deeds.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Sin Separates Us from God
…11We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us. 12For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities: 13rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Psalm 51:3-4
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. / Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.

Jeremiah 14:7
Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

Daniel 9:5-6
we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances. / We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.

Nehemiah 9:33-34
You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly. / Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.

Lamentations 1:18
The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against His command. Listen, all you people; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into captivity.

Hosea 5:5
Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; even Judah stumbles with them.

Micah 7:9
Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.

Ezra 9:6-7
and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens. / From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and subjected to the sword and to captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.

Psalm 106:6
We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

Jeremiah 3:25
Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 John 1:8-9
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. / If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

Romans 7:18-19
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. / For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.

Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Treasury of Scripture

For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;

our transgressions

Isaiah 1:4
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Ezra 9:6
And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

Jeremiah 3:2
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

our sins

Jeremiah 14:7
O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.

Hosea 5:5
And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

Hosea 7:10
And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.

we know

Ezra 9:13
And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

Nehemiah 9:33
Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:

Daniel 9:5-8
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: …

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Isaiah 59

1. Calamities are not due to lack of saving power in God, but to their own sins
16. Salvation is only of God
20. The covenant of the Redeemer

Study Bible

Book ◦ Chapter

For our transgressions are multiplied before You
This phrase acknowledges the overwhelming nature of the people's sins, emphasizing their abundance and severity. In the context of Isaiah, the prophet speaks to the people of Israel, who have repeatedly turned away from God's commandments. The use of "multiplied" suggests a continuous and increasing pattern of disobedience. This mirrors the situation in Genesis 6:5, where the wickedness of humanity was great on the earth. The phrase "before You" indicates that these transgressions are not hidden from God, aligning with the biblical theme that nothing is concealed from His sight (Hebrews 4:13).

and our sins testify against us.
Here, sins are personified as witnesses in a courtroom, providing evidence of guilt. This imagery is consistent with the legal language often found in the prophetic books, where God is depicted as a judge. The idea that sins can testify is also seen in Romans 3:19, where the law speaks to those under it, holding them accountable. This phrase underscores the concept of divine justice, where the moral order established by God inherently reveals human wrongdoing.

Our transgressions are indeed with us,
This part of the verse highlights the inescapable presence of sin in the lives of the people. It suggests an awareness and acknowledgment of their sinful state, which is a crucial step towards repentance. The phrase "with us" implies that these transgressions are not only external actions but also internal realities, resonating with Paul's struggle in Romans 7:18-20, where he speaks of the sin dwelling within him.

and we know our iniquities:
The acknowledgment of iniquities indicates a level of self-awareness and confession. In the Hebrew context, "know" often implies an intimate understanding, suggesting that the people are fully aware of their moral failures. This is a critical component of repentance, as seen in Psalm 51:3, where David confesses his transgressions and acknowledges his sin. The term "iniquities" refers to moral perversity and injustice, which are central themes in the prophetic critique of Israel's social and religious life. This recognition is a step towards seeking God's forgiveness and restoration.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Isaiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah is the author of the book. He prophesied to the Kingdom of Judah and is known for his messages of both judgment and hope.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which Isaiah primarily addressed. During Isaiah's time, Judah faced both internal corruption and external threats.

3. God
The ultimate judge and redeemer, to whom the transgressions and sins are presented.

4. Transgressions and Sins
These are the moral and spiritual failings of the people of Judah, which have accumulated and stand as a testimony against them.

5. Iniquities
A term that refers to the inherent wickedness and moral corruption present within the people, acknowledged by them in this verse.

Teaching Points

Acknowledgment of Sin
Recognizing and admitting our sins is the first step toward reconciliation with God. Just as the people of Judah acknowledged their iniquities, we must also be honest about our moral failings.

The Weight of Transgressions
Our sins are not hidden from God; they multiply and testify against us. This should lead us to a deeper understanding of our need for a Savior.

The Role of Confession
Confession is crucial in the Christian life. It is not just an admission of guilt but a step toward healing and restoration through God's grace.

God's Justice and Mercy
While God is just and our sins testify against us, He is also merciful. The acknowledgment of sin opens the door to His forgiveness and redemption.

Living in Awareness
Being aware of our iniquities should lead us to live more intentionally, seeking to align our lives with God's will and striving for holiness.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12) For our transgressions . . .--The parallelism with the confessions of Daniel (Isaiah 9:5-15) and Ezra (Isaiah 9:6-15) is singularly striking, but is as explicable on the hypothesis that they reproduced that of 2 Isaiah as on the assumption that this also was written at the close of the exile. It would, of course, be as true in the time of Manasseh as at any subsequent period. The self accusations of the people are now, as they ought to be, as full and severe as the prophet's original indictment had been.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 12. - Our transgressions are multiplied before thee; i.e. they are very numerous; and they come "before God," so as to attract his attention and call for his animadversion. Our sins testify against us; i.e. "rise up against us as witnesses, whose evidence we cannot disprove, and have not even the face to dispute." Our transgressions are with us - i.e. "constantly haunt us" - and as for our iniquities, we know them; i.e. we are aware of them, we acknowledge them, we have them continually in our memories. It is one of the most certain phenomena of consciousness that grievous sins, deadly sins, haunt the mind, and cannot in this life be wiped out from the memory.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

our transgressions
פְשָׁעֵ֙ינוּ֙ (p̄ə·šā·‘ê·nū)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 6588: Transgression

are multiplied
רַבּ֤וּ (rab·bū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

before You,
נֶגְדֶּ֔ךָ (neḡ·de·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

and our sins
וְחַטֹּאותֵ֖ינוּ (wə·ḥaṭ·ṭō·w·ṯê·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 2403: An offence, its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, expiation, an offender

testify against us.
עָ֣נְתָה (‘ā·nə·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

Our transgressions
פְשָׁעֵ֣ינוּ (p̄ə·šā·‘ê·nū)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 6588: Transgression

are indeed
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

with us,
אִתָּ֔נוּ (’it·tā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

and we know
יְדַֽעֲנֽוּם׃ (yə·ḏa·‘ă·nūm)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3045: To know

our iniquities:
וַעֲוֺנֹתֵ֖ינוּ (wa·‘ă·wō·nō·ṯê·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - common plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 5771: Iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity

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OT Prophets: Isaiah 59:12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you (Isa Isi Is)