Isaiah 59:9-15

The people agree

9 Because of that, God's justice is far away from us.

He has not come to save us.

We look for light to come to us,

but everything is dark.

We need some light in our lives,

but all we have is darkness.

10 Like blind people,

we touch the wall to find our way.

It seems that we have no eyes to see with.

Even at midday, we trip and we fall down,

as if it was dark.

We are like dead people

who live among strong people.

11 We all make a noise, like hungry bears.

We make sad noises, like doves.

We are waiting for God to bring justice to us,

but nothing is happening.

We look for his salvation,

but it is still far away.

12 Lord, you see all the bad things that we have done.

Our many sins show that we are wrong.

We know about the wrong things that we have done.

We agree that our sins are many.

13 We have turned against the Lord.

We have refused to obey him.

We have chosen to be cruel to other people,

and we have turned against the truth.

We think about the lies that we can tell,

and we use them to deceive people.

14 Judges do not decide in a fair way.

Nobody tries to do what is right.

There is no place for truth on the streets of our towns.

Honest people have to leave.

15 Nobody can speak the truth.

If anyone tries to stop doing evil things,

other people will attack him.

The Lord saw how his people were living.

He saw that there was no justice.

It made him very sad.