Social Injustice Is Condemned
1 The Lord hasn't lost
his powerful strength;
he can still hear
and answer prayers.
2 Your sins are the roadblock
between you and your God.
That's why he doesn't answer
your prayers
or let you see his face.
3 Your talk is filled with lies
and plans for violence;
every finger on your hands
is covered with blood.
4 You falsely accuse others
and tell lies in court;
sin and trouble are the names
of your children.
5 You eat the deadly eggs
of poisonous snakes,
and more snakes crawl out
from the eggs left to hatch.
You weave spider webs,
6 but you can't make clothes
with those webs
or hide behind them.
You're sinful and brutal.
7 You hurry off to do wrong
or murder innocent victims.
All you think about is sin;
you leave ruin and destruction
wherever you go.
8 You don't know how
to live in peace
or to be fair with others.
The roads you make are crooked;
your followers cannot find peace.
The People Confess Their Sins
9 No one has come to defend us
or to bring about justice.
We hoped for a day of sunshine,
but all we found
was a dark, gloomy night.
10 We feel our way along,
as if we were blind;
we stumble at noon,
as if it were night.
We can see no better
than someone dead.
11 We growl like bears
and mourn like doves.
We hope for justice and victory,
but they escape us.
12 How often have we sinned
and turned against you,
the Lord God?
Our sins condemn us!
We have done wrong.
13 We have rebelled and refused
to follow you.
Our hearts were deceitful,
and so we lied;
we planned to abuse others
and turn our backs on you.
14 Injustice is everywhere;
justice seems far away.
Truth is chased out of court;
honesty is shoved aside.
15 Everyone tells lies;
those who turn from crime
end up ruined.
The Lord Will Rescue His People
When the Lord noticed
that justice had disappeared,
he became very displeased.
16 It disgusted him even more
to learn that no one
would do a thing about it.
So with his own powerful arm,
he won victories for truth.
17 Justice was the Lord's armor;
saving power was his helmet;
anger and revenge
were his clothes.
18 Now the Lord will get furious
and do to his enemies,
both near and far,
what they did to his people.
19 He will attack like a flood
in a mighty windstorm.
Nations in the west and the east
will then honor and praise
his wonderful name.
20 The Lord has promised to rescue
the city of Zion
and Jacob's descendants
who turn from sin.
21 The Lord says: “My people,
I promise to give you my Spirit
and my message.
These will be my gifts to you
and your families forever.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
1 Beholde, the Lordes hande is not shortened, that it can not saue: neither is his eare heauie, that it cannot heare. 2 But your iniquities haue separated betweene you and your God, and your sinnes haue hidde his face from you, that he will not heare. 3 For your handes are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquitie: your lips haue spoken lies and your tongue hath murmured iniquitie. 4 No man calleth for iustice: no man contendeth for trueth: they trust in vanitie, and speake vaine things: they conceiue mischiefe, and bring foorth iniquitie. 5 They hatch cockatrice egges, and weaue the spiders webbe: he that eateth of their egges, dieth, and that which is trode vpon, breaketh out into a serpent. 6 Their webbes shall be no garment, neither shall they couer themselues with their labours: for their workes are workes of iniquitie, and the worke of crueltie is in their handes. 7 Their feete runne to euill, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are wicked thoughts: desolation and destruction is in their paths. 8 The way of peace they knowe not, and there is none equitie in their goings: they haue made them crooked paths: whosoeuer goeth therein, shall not knowe peace. 9 Therefore is iudgement farre from vs, neither doeth iustice come neere vnto vs: we waite for light, but loe, it is darkenesse: for brightnesse, but we walke in darkenesse. 10 Wee grope for the wall like the blinde, and we grope as one without eyes: we stumble at the noone day as in the twilight: we are in solitarie places, as dead men. 11 We roare all like beares, and mourne like dooues: wee looke for equitie, but there is none: for health, but it is farre from vs. 12 For our trespasses are many before thee, and our sinnes testifie against vs: for our trespasses are with vs, and we knowe our iniquities 13 In trespassing and lying against the Lord, and wee haue departed away from our God, and haue spoken of crueltie and rebellion, conceiuing and vttering out of the heart false matters. 14 Therefore iudgement is turned backewarde, and iustice standeth farre off: for trueth is fallen in the streete, and equitie cannot enter. 15 Yea, trueth faileth, and hee that refraineth from euill, maketh himselfe a praye: and when the Lord sawe it, it displeased him, that there was no iudgement. 16 And when he sawe that there was no man, hee wondered that none woulde offer him selfe. Therefore his arme did saue it, and his righteousnes it selfe did sustaine it. 17 For he put on righteousnes, as an habergeon, and an helmet of saluation vpon his head, and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeale as a cloke. 18 As to make recompence, as to requite the furie of the aduersaries with a recompence to his enemies: he will fully repaire the ylands. 19 So shall they feare the Name of the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sunne: for the enemie shall come like a flood: but the Spirit of the Lord shall chase him away. 20 And the Redeemer shall come vnto Zion, and vnto them that turne from iniquitie in Iaakob, saith the Lord. 21 And I will make this my couenant with them, saith the Lord. My Spirit that is vpon thee, and my wordes, which I haue put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seede, nor out of the mouth of the seede of thy seede, saith the Lord, from hencefoorth euen for euer.