1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips pronounce lies; your tongue speaks evil. 4 No one calls for righteousness, nor do any judge by the truth; they trust in vanity, and speak vanities; they conceive trouble and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; whosoever shall eat of their eggs shall die, and if they should squeeze them, a viper shall come out. 6 Their cloth is unfit to be a garment, neither shall they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of violence, and the work of iniquity is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are their paths. 8 The way of peace they did not know; nor is there anything straight about their ways; they have wilfully made themselves crooked paths; whosoever goes therein shall not know peace.
9 Therefore judgment has withdrawn from us, and righteousness has never overtaken us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and as if we had no eyes we walk by touch; we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in graves as dead men. 11 We all roar like bears and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for saving health, but it has withdrawn from us. 12 For our rebellions are multiplied before thee, and our sins have testified against us; for our iniquities are with us; and we know our sins: 13 To rebel and to lie against the LORD, and to depart away from our God; the speaking of libel and rebellion, to conceive, and to speak from the heart words of falsehood, 14 and that which is right has departed, and righteousness withdrew afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity could not enter.