Read the Bible

Separation from God

¹ Behold, ^(C1)the LORD'S hand is not so short
That it cannot save,
^(C2)Nor His ear so ^(F1)impaired
That it cannot hear.

² But your ^(C1)wickedness has separated you from your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does ^(C2)not hear.

³ For your ^(C1)hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with wickedness with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing;
Your lips have spoken ^(C2)lies,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.

^4 (C1)No one sues righteously but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage, and ^(C2)no one pleads his case in truth; but rather
They ^(C3)trust in empty arguments and speak lies;
They ^(C4)conceive trouble and bring forth injustice.

⁵ They hatch vipers' eggs and ^(C1)weave the spider's webs;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from an egg which is crushed a viper breaks out.

⁶ Their webs will not serve as clothing,
Nor will they ^(C1)cover themselves with what they make;
Their ^(C2)works are works of wickedness of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing,
And the ^(C3)act of violence is in their hands.

^7 (C1)Their feet run to evil,
And they rush to shed innocent blood.
^(C2)Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing;
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

⁸ They do not know the ^(C1)way of peace,
And there is ^(C2)no justice in their tracks.
They have made them into crooked paths;
^(C3)Whoever walks on them does not know peace. ^(VR1)

A Confession of Wickedness

⁹ Therefore ^(C1)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us.
We ^(C2)expectantly hope for light, but only see darkness;
We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.

¹⁰ We ^(C1)grope for a wall like the blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We ^(C2)stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are like ^(C3)dead men.

¹¹ We all groan and growl like bears,
And ^(C1)coo sadly like doves;
We hope for ^(C2)justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.

¹² For our ^(C1)transgressions are multiplied before You O LORD,
And our ^(C2)sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And we know and recognize our wickedness our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing:

¹³ Rebelling against and ^(C1)denying the LORD,
Turning away from following our God,
Speaking ^(C2)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and ^(C3)muttering from the heart lying words.

^14 (C1)Justice is pushed back,
And ^(C2)righteous behavior stands far away;
For truth has fallen in the city square,
And ^(F1)integrity cannot enter.

¹⁵ Yes, truth is missing;
And he who turns away from evil ^(C1)makes himself a prey.
Now the LORD saw it,
And it ^(F1)displeased Him ^(C2)that there was no justice.

¹⁶ He saw that there was ^(C1)no man,
And was amazed that there was no one to intercede on behalf of truth and right;
Therefore His ^(C2)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His own righteousness sustained Him. ^(VR1)

¹⁷ For He the LORD put on ^(C1)righteousness like a coat of armor,
And salvation like a ^(C2)helmet on His head;
He put on ^(C3)garments of vengeance for clothing
And covered Himself with ^(C4)zeal and great love for His people as a cloak. ^(VR1)

^18 (C1)As their deeds deserve, so He will repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, retribution to His enemies;
To the islands and coastlands He will repay.

¹⁹ So they will fear the name of the LORD from the ^(C1)west
And His glory from the ^(C2)rising of the sun.
For He will ^(C3)come in like a narrow, rushing stream
Which the ^(F1)breath of the LORD drives overwhelming the enemy. ^(VR1)

²⁰ "A ^(C1)Redeemer (Messiah) will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob (Israel) who ^(C2)turn from transgression (sin)," declares the LORD.

²¹ "As for Me, this is My ^(C1)covenant with them," says the LORD: "My ^(C2)Spirit which is upon you writing the law of God on the heart, and My ^(C3)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your true, spiritual ^(F1)children, nor from the mouth of your children's children," says the LORD, "from now and forever." ^(VR1)