“But you were angry.
We sinned!
Because you hid yourself,
We transgressed.
We have all become
Like one who is unclean.
All our righteous deeds are
Like a filthy cloth.
We all fade
Like a leaf.
Our iniquities are
Like the wind.
They take us away.
There is no one
Who calls on your name.
No one attempts
To take hold of you.
You have hidden your face
From us.
You have delivered us
Into the hand of our iniquities.”
Then the prophet proclaimed that he and his people were sinners. Once again, he tried to mitigate this sinfulness by saying that God was angry at them and hid his face. This made it easier to be a transgressor. They all became unclean, so that even their good deeds were like filthy cloths. They faded like a leaf into their iniquities. They were like the wind, blown away. No one called the name of Yahweh or tried to contact him, because Yahweh had hidden his face from them. Once again, in an attempt to avoid responsibility, the prophet said that he was delivered into the hands of iniquity, as if he could not refrain from it.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 