1. Indeed, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save, and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2. But your iniquities have built barriersbetween you and your God,and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.
3. For your hands are defiled with bloodand your fingers, with iniquity;your lips have spoken lies,and your tongues mutter injustice.
4. No one makes claims justly;no one pleads honestly.They trust in empty and worthless words;they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.
5. They hatch viper’s eggsand weave spider’s webs.Whoever eats their eggs will die;crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6. Their webs cannot become clothing,and they cannot cover themselves with their works.Their works are sinful works,and violent acts are in their hands.
7. Their feet run after evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8. They have not known the path of peace, and there is no justice in their ways.They have made their roads crooked;no one who walks on them will know peace.
9. Therefore justice is far from us,and righteousness does not reach us.We hope for light, but there is darkness;for brightness, but we live in the night.
10. We grope along a wall like the blind;we grope like those without eyes. We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11. We all growl like bearsand moan like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none;for salvation, but it is far from us.