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Isaiah 57
World English Bible
Isaiah 57
World English Bible
57 The righteous perish,
and no one lays it to heart.
Merciful men are taken away,
and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil.
2 He enters into peace.
They rest in their beds,
each one who walks in his uprightness.
3 “But draw near here, you sons of a sorceress,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes.
4 Whom do you mock?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
and stick out your tongue?
Aren’t you children of disobedience
and offspring of falsehood,
5 you who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
under every green tree;
who kill the children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion.
They, they are your lot.
You have even poured a drink offering to them.
You have offered an offering.
Shall I be appeased for these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 You have set up your memorial behind the doors and the posts,
for you have exposed yourself to someone besides me,
and have gone up.
You have enlarged your bed
and made you a covenant with them.
You loved what you saw on their bed.
9 You went to the king with oil,
increased your perfumes,
sent your ambassadors far off,
and degraded yourself even to Sheol.[a]
10 You were wearied with the length of your ways;
yet you didn’t say, ‘It is in vain.’
You found a reviving of your strength;
therefore you weren’t faint.
11 “Whom have you dreaded and feared,
so that you lie,
and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart?
Haven’t I held my peace for a long time,
and you don’t fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness;
and as for your works, they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry,
let those whom you have gathered deliver you;
but the wind will take them.
a breath will carry them all away:
but he who takes refuge in me will possess the land,
and will inherit my holy mountain.”
14 He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way!
Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.”
15 For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry;
for the spirit would faint before me,
and the souls whom I have made.
17 I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness and struck him.
I hid myself and was angry;
and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him.
I will lead him also,
and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
says Yahweh; “and I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea;
for it can’t rest and its waters cast up mire and mud.
21 “There is no peace”, says my God,
“for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- 57:9 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Isaiah 57
New International Version
Isaiah 57
New International Version
57 The righteous perish,(A)
and no one takes it to heart;(B)
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.(C)
2 Those who walk uprightly(D)
enter into peace;
they find rest(E) as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(F)
you offspring of adulterers(G) and prostitutes!(H)
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(I)
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(J)
and under every spreading tree;(K)
you sacrifice your children(L) in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(M) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(N)
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?(O)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(P)
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(Q)
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,(R)
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(S)
9 You went to Molek[a](T) with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.(U)
You sent your ambassadors[b](V) far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!(W)
10 You wearied(X) yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(Y)
You found renewal of your strength,(Z)
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(AA)
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(AB) me
nor taken this to heart?(AC)
Is it not because I have long been silent(AD)
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(AE)
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(AF) for help,
let your collection of idols save(AG) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow(AH) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(AI) in me
will inherit the land(AJ)
and possess my holy mountain.”(AK)
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(AL)
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(AM)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(AN) One says—
he who lives forever,(AO) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(AP) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(AQ) and lowly in spirit,(AR)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(AS)
16 I will not accuse(AT) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(AU)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(AV) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(AW)
I punished them, and hid(AX) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(AY)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(AZ) them;
I will guide(BA) them and restore comfort(BB) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(BC)
Peace, peace,(BD) to those far and near,”(BE)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(BF) are like the tossing sea,(BG)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(BH) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(BI) says my God, “for the wicked.”(BJ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
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