Isaiah 59 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Isaiah 59 names the barrier sin creates between people and God, then answers that need with God's own saving action. The chapter moves from confession and judgment to hope, showing that the Lord sees injustice, acts in righteousness, and promises a Redeemer for those who turn back to him.

What happens in Isaiah 59?

The chapter begins by affirming that God is able to save and hear, but the people's sins have separated them from him. Isaiah describes a society marked by violence, lies, injustice, and a failure of truth and peace. The tone shifts as the Lord sees that no one is able to intervene. In response, God himself acts with righteousness and zeal, bringing judgment on evil and salvation to those who turn from transgression. The chapter ends with a covenant promise: the Lord's Spirit and word will remain with his people and their descendants.

Isaiah 59 stands near the close of the book's early section, where Judah's sin and need for repentance are repeatedly exposed. It follows a chapter that called for true worship and justice, and it leads into a promise of coming light and restoration in the next chapter. Here the prophet focuses on why deliverance is needed and who must provide it.

Themes to notice

Sin and separationWrongdoing is shown as the real barrier that keeps people from enjoying God's help and presence.
God's saving righteousnessWhen no human helper is found, the Lord himself steps in to bring rescue and justice.
Covenant hopeThe chapter closes with a promise that God's Spirit and words will remain with his people and their children.

Questions for Isaiah 59

What kinds of sins and social failures are named in this chapter, and how do they affect the whole community?
Why is it important that God himself acts when no one else can intercede?
What does the final covenant promise say about God's ongoing presence with his people?

Read the full text of Isaiah 59 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Isaiah 59

Sin Separates Us from God

1Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,

nor His ear too dull to hear.

2But your iniquities have built barriers

between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden His face from you,

so that He does not hear.

3For your hands are stained with blood,

and your fingers with iniquity;

your lips have spoken lies,

and your tongue mutters injustice.

4No one calls for justice;

no one pleads his case honestly.

They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies;

they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

5They hatch the eggs of vipers

and weave a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die;

crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

6Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing,

and they cannot cover themselves with their works.

Their deeds are sinful deeds,

and acts of violence are in their hands.

7Their feet run to evil;

they are swift to shed innocent blood.

Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;

ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

8The way of peace they have not known,

and there is no justice in their tracks.

They have turned them into crooked paths;

no one who treads on them will know peace.

9Therefore justice is far from us,

and righteousness does not reach us.

We hope for light, but there is darkness;

for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall,

groping like those without eyes.

We stumble at midday as in the twilight;

among the vigorous we are like the dead.

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.

14So justice is turned away,

and righteousness stands at a distance.

For truth has stumbled in the public square,

and honesty cannot enter.

15Truth is missing,

and whoever turns from evil becomes prey.

The LORD looked and was displeased

that there was no justice.

16He saw that there was no man;

He was amazed that there was no one to intercede.

So His own arm brought salvation,

and His own righteousness sustained Him.

17He put on righteousness like a breastplate,

and the helmet of salvation on His head;

He put on garments of vengeance

and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.

The Covenant of the Redeemer

18So He will repay according to their deeds:

fury to His enemies,

retribution to His foes,

and recompense to the islands.

19So shall they fear the name of the LORD

where the sun sets,

and His glory where it rises.

For He will come like a raging flood,

driven by the breath of the LORD.

20“The Redeemer will come to Zion,

to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,”

declares the LORD.

21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.

What happens in Isaiah 59?

Themes to notice

Questions for Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59

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