Isaiah 57
Legacy Standard Bible
Evil Leaders Rebuked
57 The righteous man perishes, and no man (A)puts it upon his heart;
And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is gathered away from (B)evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their [a]beds,
Each one who (C)walked in his upright way.
3 “But draw near, you sons of a (D)soothsayer,
(E)Seed of an adulterer and [b]a (F)prostitute.
4 Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of (G)transgression,
Seed of lying,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the [c](H)oaks,
(I)Under every green tree,
Who (J)slaughter the children in the [d]ravines,
Under the clefts of the cliffs?
6 Among the [e](K)smooth stones of the [f]ravine
Is your portion, [g]they are your lot;
Even to them you have (L)poured out a drink offering;
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I [h](M)relent concerning these things?
7 Upon a mountain (N)lofty and lifted up
You have (O)made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your memorial;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have (P)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide,
And you have cut a covenant for yourself with them;
You have loved their [i]bed;
You have looked on their [j]manhood.
9 You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have (Q)sent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.
10 You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘(R)It is hopeless.’
You found [k]renewed strength;
Therefore you did not [l]faint.
11 “Of (S)whom were you anxious and fearful
When you lied and did (T)not remember Me,
Nor even (U)put Me upon your heart?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?
12 I will (V)declare your righteousness and your (W)deeds,
But they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out, (X)let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will lift all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who (Y)takes refuge in Me will (Z)inherit the land
And will (AA)possess My holy mountain.”
Yahweh Revives the Spirit of the Lowly
14 And it will be said,
“(AB)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
[m]Remove every stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the One (AC)high and lifted up
Who (AD)dwells forever, whose name is Holy,
“I (AE)dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the (AF)crushed and lowly of spirit
In order to (AG)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the crushed.
16 For I will (AH)not contend forever,
(AI)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the (AJ)breath of those whom I have made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his (AK)greedy gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on (AL)turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will (AM)heal him;
I will (AN)lead him and (AO)pay him and his mourners in full with comfort,
19 Creating the [n](AP)praise of the lips.
(AQ)Peace, peace to him who is (AR)far and to him who is near,”
Says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the (AS)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “(AT)There is no peace,” says (AU)my God, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:2 Graves
- Isaiah 57:3 As in ancient versions; Heb she prostitutes herself
- Isaiah 57:5 Or terebinths
- Isaiah 57:5 Or wadis
- Isaiah 57:6 Symbols of fertility gods
- Isaiah 57:6 Or wadi
- Isaiah 57:6 Lit they, they
- Isaiah 57:6 Or regret, be comforted; cf. 40:1
- Isaiah 57:8 Or lying down
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit hand
- Isaiah 57:10 Lit the life of your hand
- Isaiah 57:10 Or become sick
- Isaiah 57:14 Lit Make high, cf. 57:15; 6:1
- Isaiah 57:19 Lit fruit of the lips
Isaiah 57
Easy-to-Read Version
Israel Does Not Follow God
57 All the good people are gone,
and no one even noticed.
The loyal followers were gathered up,
but no one knows why.
The reason they were gathered up
is that trouble is coming.
2 But peace will come too,
and those who trust him will get to rest in their own beds.
3 “Come here, you children of witches.
Your father committed adultery,
and your mother was unfaithful.
4 You are children out of control, full of lies.
You make fun of me.
You make faces
and stick out your tongue at me.[a]
5 All you want is to worship false gods
under every green tree.
You kill children by every stream
and sacrifice them in the rocky places.
6 You love to worship the smooth rocks in the rivers.
You pour wine on them to worship them.
You give sacrifices to them, but those rocks are all you get.
Do you think this makes me happy?
7 You make your bed on every hill
and high mountain.[b]
You go up to those places
and offer sacrifices.
8 You hide the things that help you remember me
behind the doors and doorframes.[c]
You were with me,
but you got up to go to them.
You spread out your bed
and gave yourself to them.[d]
You love their beds
and enjoy looking at their naked bodies.[e]
9 You use your oils and perfumes
to look nice for Molech.
You sent your messengers to faraway lands,
and this will bring you down to the place of death.[f]
10 All of them made you tired,
but you never gave up.
You found new strength,
because you enjoyed them.
11 You did not remember me.
You did not even notice me!
So who were you worrying about?
Who were you afraid of?
Why did you lie?
Look, I have been quiet for a long time.
Is that why you didn’t honor me?
12 I could tell about your ‘good works’ and all the ‘religious’ things you do,
but that will not help you.
13 When you need help,
you cry to those false gods that you have gathered around you.
Let them help you!
But I tell you, the wind will blow them all away.
A puff of wind will blow them all away.
But the one who depends on me
will get the land I promised
and enjoy my holy mountain.[g]”
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Clear the road! Clear the road!
Make the way clear for my people!
15 God is high and lifted up.
He lives forever.
His name is holy.
He says, “I live in a high and holy place,
but I also live with people who are humble and sorry for their sins.
I will give new life to those who are humble in spirit.
I will give new life to those who are sorry for their sins.
16 I will not accuse my people forever.
I will not always be angry.
If I continued to show my anger,
then the human spirit, the life I gave them, would die before me.
17 Israel’s evil greed made me angry,
so I punished them.
I turned away from them
because I was angry.
But they continued to do wrong.
They did whatever they wanted.
18 I have seen their way of life, but I will heal them.
I will guide and comfort them and those who mourn for them.
19 I will teach them a new word: peace.
I will give peace to those who are near and to those who are far away.
I will heal them.”
The Lord himself said this.
20 But evil people are like the angry ocean.
They cannot be quiet and peaceful.
They are angry, and like the ocean,
they stir up mud.
21 My God says,
“There is no peace for evil people.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:4 make faces … at me This probably refers to the god Bel, which is usually shown making a face and sticking out his tongue.
- Isaiah 57:7 every hill and high mountain The people worshiped false gods in these places. The people thought these false gods would give them good crops and more children.
- Isaiah 57:8 doorframes The Israelites were supposed to put special things on their doorframes to help them remember God. See Deut. 6:9.
- Isaiah 57:8 gave yourself to them Or “and made agreements with them.”
- Isaiah 57:8 naked bodies This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word also means “memorial,” as in Isa. 56:5.
- Isaiah 57:9 this will … death Or “You even send them down to Sheol.”
- Isaiah 57:13 holy mountain Mount Zion, one of the mountains Jerusalem was built on.
Isaiah 57
New King James Version
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
(A)Merciful men are taken away,
(B)While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [a]evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in (C)their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3 “But come here,
(D)You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom 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,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods (E)under every green tree,
(F)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth (G)stones 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 (H)these?
7 “On(I) a lofty and high mountain
You have set (J)your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also 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 [b]made a covenant with them;
(K)You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [c]nudity.
9 (L)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your (M)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
(N)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And (O)of 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 (P)I have [d]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When 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
14 And one shall say,
(Q)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, (R)whose name is Holy:
(S)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
(T)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
(U)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 (V)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls (W)which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of (X)his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
(Y)I hid and was angry,
(Z)And he went on [e]backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and (AA)will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to (AB)his mourners.
19 “I create (AC)the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace (AD)to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20 (AE)But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “There(AF) is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:1 Lit. the face of evil
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. cut
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. hand, a euphemism
- Isaiah 57:11 remained silent
- Isaiah 57:17 Or turning back
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
