Isaiah 57
57
LVII
1The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart;
And godly men are taken away, none considering
That out of the way of evil the righteous is taken away.
2He shall go in peace;
They shall rest on their beds,
Everyone that walketh in the straight path before him.
3But draw ye near hither, O sons of the sorceress!
The seed of the adulterer and the harlot.
4Of whom do ye make your sport?
At whom do ye widen the mouth, and put out the tongue?
Are ye not children of apostasy, a seed of falsehood,
5Who burn with the lust of idols under every green tree;
Who slay the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
6Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion;
They, they are thy lot;
Even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering,
Thou hast offered a meat-offering.
Can I be comforted by these things?
7Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed:
Even thither hast thou gone up to offer sacrifice.
8Behind the door also, and the door-post, hast thou set up thy memorial,
For thou hast uncovered thyself to another than me;
Thou hast gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed;
And thou hast obtained for thee an agreement from them:
Thou hast loved their bed,
The place which thou hast chosen.
9And thou wentest to the king with ointment,
And didst multiply thy perfumes;
And didst send thy messengers far off,
And didst debase thyself even unto Hades.
10In the length of thy journeys thou didst weary thyself;
Yet thou saidst not, It is hopeless:
Thou didst find the life of thy hand;
Therefore, thou hast not been dispirited.
11And of whom hast thou been fearful or afraid, that thou shouldest deal falsely, and not remember me,
Nor lay it to thine heart?
Have I not been silent, and that for a long time?
Is that it, therefore, that thou fearedst me not?
12I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works;
But they shall not profit thee.
13When thou criest, let thine associates deliver thee:
But the wind shall carry them all away; a breath of air shall take them off.
But he that trusteth in me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit my holy mountain.
14And it shall be said: Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way;
Remove the stumbling-block from the way of my people.
15For thus saith the high and lofty One,
Who inhabiteth eternity, and whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit;
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16For I will not always contend,
Neither will I be angry for ever:
For the spirit would languish away from before me,
And the souls which I have made.
17For the iniquity of his avarice was I angry, and smote him;
I hid me, and I was angry:
But he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
18I have seen his ways, and I will heal him; I will also be his guide; and I will restore comforts unto him,
And to his mourners.
19I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace, to him that is afar off,
And to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.
20But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
Which cannot rest;
And whose waters cast up filth and mire.
21There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 57
57
The Blessed Death of the Righteous
1The righteous perish,
and no one takes it to heart;
devout men are swept away,
while no one considers
that the righteous are guided
from the presence of evil.
2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace;
they find rest, lying down in death.
God Condemns Idolatry
3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
4Whom are you mocking?
At whom do you snarl and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
offspring of deceit,
5who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every luxuriant tree,
who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley;
indeed, they are your lot.
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering
and offered a grain offering.
Should I relent because of these?
7On a high and lofty hill you have made your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifices.
8Behind the door and doorpost
you have set up your memorial.
Forsaking Me, you uncovered your bed;
you climbed up and opened it wide.
And you have made a pact with those whose bed you have loved;
you have gazed upon their nakedness.
9You went to Molech #57:9 Or to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes.
You have sent your envoys #57:9 Or idols a great distance;
you have descended even to Sheol itself.
10You are wearied by your many journeys,
but you did not say, “There is no hope!”
You found renewal of your strength;
therefore you did not grow weak.
11Whom have you dreaded and feared,
so that you lied and failed
to remember Me or take this to heart?
Is it not because I have long been silent
that you do not fear Me?
12I will expose your righteousness and your works,
and they will not profit you.
13When you cry out,
let your companies of idols deliver you!
Yet the wind will carry off all of them,
a breath will take them away.
But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land
and possess My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Repentant
14And it will be said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
take every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in a high and holy place,
and with the oppressed and humble in spirit,
to restore the spirit of the lowly
and revive the heart of the contrite.
16For I will not accuse you forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me,
with the breath of those I have made.
17I was enraged by his sinful greed,
so I struck him and hid My face in anger;
yet he kept turning back
to the desires of his heart.
18I have seen his ways,
but I will heal him;
I will guide him and restore comfort
to him and his mourners,
19bringing praise to their lips.
Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal them.”
20But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,
for it cannot be still,
and its waves churn up mire and muck.
21“There is no peace,” says my God,
“for the wicked.”
The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.