1Surely, the LORD's arm is not too short or weak to save; nor is His ear deaf and unable to hear. 2But it is your sins that have created a separation between you and your God, and turned His face from you, so that He will no longer listen. 3For your hands are stained with innocent blood, and your fingers with guilt; you have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. 4No one calls for justice, nor does anyone plead a case with truth and integrity; but instead, they rely upon empty words, and deceit; they concoct mischief, and give birth to evil. 5They hatch the eggs of vipers, and spin spider's webs. Whoever eats their eggs dies, and when broken, a poisonous viper emerges. 6Their cobwebs are useless; they cannot be woven into garment fabrics, nor can they clothe themselves with them; they produce nothing but evil deeds, and acts of violence. 7Their feet run to do evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are nothing but evil schemes; wanton destruction is in their paths. 8They know nothing of peace; and there is no justice in what they do; their paths are crooked and devious; whoever follows them shall never know peace. 9Therefore, justice is far from us, nor does righteousness prevail. We look for light, but see only darkness; for brightness, but we stumble in the dark. 10Like the blind, we grope for the wall and feel our way as if we had no eyes; we stumble as much at noonday as at night; wandering through desolate places like dead men. 11We growl like bears, and moan mournfully like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us, 12Because our many transgressions are piled up before You, LORD, and our sins testify against us; our offenses are ever before us; and we are painfully aware of them. 13We know we have rebelled against and lied to the LORD, and turned away from our God, inciting oppression and revolt; conceiving and uttering lying words. 14And so justice is overturned, and righteousness is far off; truth lies fallen in the street, and honesty has been banned. 15Truth is nowhere to be found; and anyone who chooses good over evil puts himself in jeopardy.

16And the LORD saw and was appalled that there was no righteous one to intercede; therefore, He stepped in, Himself, to bring salvation to Israel for Himself; and His righteousness sustained Him. 17He put on a breastplate of righteousness, with a helmet of salvation upon His head; and for clothing, He put on a robe of vengeance and wrapped Himself with zeal like a cloak. 18He will repay His adversaries for their evil their deeds with fury, repaying His enemies; even to the ends of the earth, He will repay their due. 19From the west to the east, they shall revere the name of the LORD and acknowledge His glory. For He will come like a pent-up flood driven along by the breath of the LORD. 20“The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to those in Jacob who repent of their transgressions”, says the LORD. 21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them”, says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall always be on your lips, and on the lips your children, and of your children 's children from henceforth and forever more.”, says the LORD.