Isaiah 57
57
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
1The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
#Ps. 12:1Merciful men are taken away,
#1 Kin. 14:13While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from evil.
2He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in #2 Chr. 16:14their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3“But come here,
#Is. 1:4; Matt. 16:4You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5Inflaming yourselves with gods #2 Kin. 16:4under every green tree,
#2 Kin. 23:10; Ps. 106:37, 38; Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 16:20Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6Among the smooth #Jer. 3:9; Hab. 2:19stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in #Jer. 5:9, 29; 9:9these?
7“On#Jer. 3:6; Ezek. 16:16 a lofty and high mountain
You have set #Ezek. 23:41your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And made a covenant with them;
#Ezek. 16:26You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their nudity.
9#Hos. 7:11You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your #Ezek. 23:16, 40messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10You are wearied in the length of your way;
#Jer. 2:25; 18:12Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11“And #Prov. 29:25; Is. 51:12, 13of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because #Ps. 50:21; Eccl. 8:11; Is. 42:14I have held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Backslider
14And one shall say,
#Is. 40:3; 62:10; Jer. 18:15“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, #Job 6:10; Luke 1:49whose name is Holy:
#Ps. 68:35; Zech. 2:13“I dwell in the high and holy place,
#Ps. 34:18; 51:17; Is. 66:2With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
#Ps. 147:3; Is. 61:1–3To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16#Ps. 85:5; 103:9; (Mic. 7:18)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls #Num. 16:22; Job 34:14; Heb. 12:9which I have made.
17For the iniquity of #Is. 2:7; 56:11; Jer. 6:13his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
#Is. 8:17; 45:15; 59:2I hid and was angry,
#Is. 9:13And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
18I have seen his ways, and #Jer. 3:22will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to #Is. 61:2his mourners.
19“I create #Is. 6:7; 51:16; 59:21; Heb. 13:15the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace #Acts 2:39; Eph. 2:17to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20#Job 15:20; Prov. 4:16; Jude 13But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21“There#Is. 48:22 is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 57: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 57
57
Israel Does Not Follow God
1Those right with God may die,
but no one pays attention.
Good people are taken away,
but no one understands.
The people who do right are being taken away because of evil.
2But they are given peace.
The people who live the way God wants them to
find rest in death.
3“Come here, you magicians!
Come here, you sons of prostitutes and those who take part in adultery!
4Whom are you making fun of?
Whom are you insulting?
At whom do you stick out your tongue?
You turn against God,
and you are liars.
5You sin sexually under every green tree
to worship your false gods.
You kill children in the ravines
and sacrifice them in the rocky places.
6You take the smooth rocks from the ravines.
They are your portion.
You pour drink offerings on them to worship them.
You give grain offerings to them.
Do you think this makes me want to forgive you?
7You make your bed on every hill and mountain.
And there you offer sacrifices.
8You have hidden your idols
behind your doors and doorposts.
You have left me, and you have uncovered yourself.
You have pulled back the covers and climbed into bed.
You have made an agreement with
the ones whose beds you love.
And you have looked at their nakedness.
9You use your oils and perfumes
to look nice for Molech.
You have sent your messengers to faraway lands.
You even tried to send them to where the dead are.
10You have worked hard to do these things.
But you never gave up.
You found new strength.
So you did not quit.
11“Whom were you so afraid of
that you lied to me?
You have not remembered me
or even thought about me.
I have been quiet for a long time.
Is that why you are not afraid of me?
12I will tell about your ‘goodness’ and what you do.
And those things will do you no good.
13When you cry out for help,
let the false gods you have gathered help you.
The wind will blow them all away.
Just a puff of wind will take them away.
But the person who depends on me will receive the land.
He will have my holy mountain.”
The Lord Will Save His People
14The Lord says, “Build a road! Build a road! Prepare the way!
Make the way clear for my people.”
15God lives forever and is holy.
He is high and lifted up, and he says,
“I live in a high and holy place.
But I also live with people who are sad and humble.
I give new life to those who are humble.
I give new life to those whose hearts are broken.
16I will not accuse forever.
I will not always be angry.
If I continued to be angry, man’s life would grow weak.
Man, whom I created, would die.
17I was angry because they were dishonest in order to make money.
I punished them and turned away from them in anger.
But they continued to do evil.
18I have seen what they have done, but I will heal them.
I will guide them and comfort them.
And those who were sad will praise me.
19I will give peace, real peace, to those far and near.
And I will heal them,” says the Lord.
20But evil people are like the angry sea.
It cannot rest.
Its waves toss up waste and mud.
21“There is no peace for evil people,” says my God.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.