The Meaning of Isaiah 59:12 Explained

Isaiah 59:12

KJV: For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;

YLT: For our transgressions have been multiplied before Thee, And our sins have testified against us, For our transgressions are with us, And our iniquities -- we have known them.

Darby: For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us; and our iniquities, we know them:

ASV: For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For our transgressions  are multiplied  before thee, and our sins  testify  against us: for our transgressions  [are] with us; and [as for] our iniquities,  we know  them; 

What does Isaiah 59:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The reason justice and salvation were far away was the Israelites" multiplied transgressions, sins, and iniquities. But they had finally acknowledged their condition (cf. Psalm 51:5). Therefore, hope was now possible, that God would step forward and deliver them (cf. 1 John 1:9).
"Hatred of the consequences of sin and its destructive effects on one"s own life are not necessarily evidence of true repentance. It is when we face sin as rebellion against the holy God who loves us that we begin to see it, in some degree, as he sees it." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 59:1-15 - Iniquities Separate From God
Israel's sins, Isaiah 59:1-8. Much of our suffering in life results from our sins, which cut off God's health and help. Let us not blame Providence, but set ourselves to discover the cause of controversy. When the law courts-the fountains of justice-are demoralized, the community is in a hopeless condition, Isaiah 59:3-4. Instead of stamping out evil in the egg, the sinful heart hatches it out, and it yields the poison of vipers, Isaiah 59:5. Ah, the hapless state of the ungodly! Their feet, and their thoughts, and their paths, are fatal to the peace of others and to their own. The way of peace can be entered only at the Cross, and maintained only by constant watchfulness. See Luke 1:79.
Israel's confession, Isaiah 59:9-15. Here the stricken people pour out their complaint before God, confessing, first, the bitterness of their sufferings and then the blackness of their sins. The roar of the hungry bear for food and the dove's mourning for her mate, Isaiah 59:11, are apt descriptions of the complaint of the penitent soul. It is a good sign when a man cannot lift up his eyes to heaven and beats upon his breast, Luke 18:13. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 59

1  Calamities are not due to lack of saving power in God, but to their own sins
16  Salvation is only of God
20  The covenant of the Redeemer

What do the individual words in Isaiah 59:12 mean?

For are multiplied our transgressions before You and our sins testify against us our transgressions [are] with us and [as for] our iniquities we know them
כִּֽי־ רַבּ֤וּ פְשָׁעֵ֙ינוּ֙ נֶגְדֶּ֔ךָ וְחַטֹּאותֵ֖ינוּ עָ֣נְתָה בָּ֑נוּ פְשָׁעֵ֣ינוּ אִתָּ֔נוּ וַעֲוֺנֹתֵ֖ינוּ יְדַֽעֲנֽוּם

רַבּ֤וּ  are  multiplied 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
פְשָׁעֵ֙ינוּ֙  our  transgressions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: פֶּשַׁע  
Sense: transgression, rebellion.
נֶגְדֶּ֔ךָ  before  You 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: נֶגֶד  
Sense: what is conspicuous, what is in front of adv.
וְחַטֹּאותֵ֖ינוּ  and  our  sins 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
עָ֣נְתָה  testify 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
בָּ֑נוּ  against  us 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
פְשָׁעֵ֣ינוּ  our  transgressions  [are] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: פֶּשַׁע  
Sense: transgression, rebellion.
אִתָּ֔נוּ  with  us 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
וַעֲוֺנֹתֵ֖ינוּ  and  [as  for]  our  iniquities 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common plural construct, first person common plural
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
יְדַֽעֲנֽוּם  we  know  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.