4No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly.
         They trust in confusion and speak lies;
         They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

5They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
         He who eats of their eggs dies,
         And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.

6Their webs will not become clothing,
         Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
         Their works are works of iniquity,
         And an act of violence is in their hands.

7Their feet run to evil,
         And they hasten to shed innocent blood;
         Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
         Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

8They do not know the way of peace,
         And there is no justice in their tracks;
         They have made their paths crooked,
         Whoever treads on them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness

9Therefore justice is far from us,
         And righteousness does not overtake us;
         We hope for light, but behold, darkness,
         For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10We grope along the wall like blind men,
         We grope like those who have no eyes;
         We stumble at midday as in the twilight,
         Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.

11All of us growl like bears,
         And moan sadly like doves;
         We hope for justice, but there is none,
         For salvation, but it is far from us.

12For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
         And our sins testify against us;
         For our transgressions are with us,
         And we know our iniquities:

13Transgressing and denying the LORD,
         And turning away from our God,
         Speaking oppression and revolt,
         Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.

14Justice is turned back,
         And righteousness stands far away;
         For truth has stumbled in the street,
         And uprightness cannot enter.

15Yes, truth is lacking;
         And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.
         Now the LORD saw,
         And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.

16And He saw that there was no man,
         And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
         Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
         And His righteousness upheld Him.

17He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
         And a helmet of salvation on His head;
         And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
         And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.

18According to their deeds, so He will repay,
         Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
         To the coastlands He will make recompense.

19So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west
         And His glory from the rising of the sun,
         For He will come like a rushing stream
         Which the wind of the LORD drives.

20“A Redeemer will come to Zion,
         And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.

      21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Douay-Rheims Bible
There is none that calleth upon justice, neither is there any one that judgeth truly: but they trust in a mere nothing, and speak vanities: they have conceived labour, and brought forth iniquity.

Darby Bible Translation
none calleth for justice, none pleadeth in truthfulness. They trust in vanity, and speak falsehood; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

English Revised Version
None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Webster's Bible Translation
None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

World English Bible
None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Young's Literal Translation
There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.Flimsy Garments
'Their webs shall not become garments.'--ISAIAH lix. 6. 'I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.'--REV. iii. 18. The force of these words of the prophet is very obvious. He has been pouring out swift, indignant denunciation on the evil-doers in Israel; and, says he, 'they hatch cockatrice's eggs and spin spiders' webs,' pointing, as I suppose, to the patient perseverance, worthy of a better cause, which bad men …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Salvation
ISAIAH lix. 15, 16. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him. This text is often held to be a prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I certainly believe that it is a prophecy of his coming, and of something better still; namely, his continual presence; and a very noble and deep one, and one from …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

'The Breastplate of Righteousness'
'Having put on the breastplate of righteousness.'--Eph. vi. 14. There can be no doubt that in this whole context the Apostle has in mind the great passage in Isaiah lix. where the prophet, in a figure of extreme boldness, describes the Lord as arming Himself to deliver the oppressed faithful, and coming as a Redeemer to Zion. In that passage the Lord puts on righteousness as a breastplate--that is to say, God, in His manifestation of Himself for the deliverance of His people, comes forth as if arrayed …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Universal Chorus
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that stteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. M en have generally agreed to dignify their presumptuous and arrogant ^* disquisitions on the works and ways of God, with the name of wisdom ; though the principles upon which they proceed, and the conclusions which they draw from …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Lack of Prayer
"Ye have not, because ye ask not."--JAS. iv. 2. "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor."--ISA. lix. 16. "There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee."--ISA. lxiv. 7. At our last Wellington Convention for the Deepening of the Spiritual Life, in April, the forenoon meetings were devoted to prayer and intercession. Great blessing was found, both in listening to what the Word teaches of their need and power, and in joining …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

God Seeks Intercessors
"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that are the Lord's remembrancers, keep not silence, and give Him no rest till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."--ISA. lxii. 6, 7. "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor."--ISA. lix. 16. "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered, and there was none to uphold."--ISA. lxiii. 5. "There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

"For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Hath Made Me Free from the Law of Sin and Death. "
Rom. viii. 2.--"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." That which makes the delivery of men from the tyranny of sin and death most difficult, and utterly impossible unto nature, is, that sinners have given up themselves unto it, as if it were true liberty, that the will and affections of men are conquered, and sin hath its imperial throne seated there. Other conquerors invade men against their will, and so they rule against their will. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Impending Conflict
From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan's purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God's law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result …
Ellen Gould White—The Great Controversy

The Hindrances to Mourning
What shall we do to get our heart into this mourning frame? Do two things. Take heed of those things which will stop these channels of mourning; put yourselves upon the use of all means that will help forward holy mourning. Take heed of those things which will stop the current of tears. There are nine hindrances of mourning. 1 The love of sin. The love of sin is like a stone in the pipe which hinders the current of water. The love of sin makes sin taste sweet and this sweetness in sin bewitches the …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Concerning Perfection.
Concerning Perfection. In whom this pure and holy birth is fully brought forth, the body of death and sin comes to be crucified and removed, and their hearts united and subjected to the truth; so as not to obey any suggestions or temptations of the evil one, but to be free from actual sinning and transgressing of the law of God, and in that respect perfect: yet doth this perfection still admit of a growth; and there remaineth always in some part a possibility of sinning, where the mind doth not most …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

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