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You approached the king[a] with oil,
    and multiplied your perfumes;
You sent your ambassadors far away,
    down even to deepest Sheol.
10 Though worn out with the length of your journey,
    you never said, “It is hopeless”;
You found your strength revived,
    and so you did not weaken.
11 Whom did you dread and fear,
    that you told lies,
And me you did not remember
    nor take to heart?
Am I to keep silent and conceal,
    while you show no fear of me?

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Footnotes

  1. 57:9 The king: in Hebrew, the word for king is melek, similar in sound to the Canaanite god Molech, to whom children were offered as a sacrifice in pagan ritual. The expression “your ambassadors” could be a figurative expression for the children whose death served as an offering to this deity.

You went to Molek[a](A) with olive oil
    and increased your perfumes.(B)
You sent your ambassadors[b](C) far away;
    you descended to the very realm of the dead!(D)
10 You wearied(E) yourself by such going about,
    but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(F)
You found renewal of your strength,(G)
    and so you did not faint.

11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(H)
    that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(I) me
    nor taken this to heart?(J)
Is it not because I have long been silent(K)
    that you do not fear me?

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
  2. Isaiah 57:9 Or idols