Yeshayah 57
Orthodox Jewish Bible
57 The tzaddik perisheth, and no ish layeth it to lev; and anshei chesed are taken away, none considering that the tzaddik is taken away from the ra’ah (evil, calamity) to come.
2 He shall enter into shalom; they shall rest in their mishkevot (couches, i.e., tombs), each one walking in his nekhochah (uprightness, integrity, honesty).
3 But draw near to here, ye bnei onenah (you children of a sorceress), zera mena’ef (offspring of an adulterer) and she who plays the zonah.
4 At whom are you sneering? Against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the leshon? Are ye not yeledim of peysha (rebellion), zera sheker?
5 Enflaming yourselves among [cult prostitution and Ba’al sympathetic magic in worshipping fertility] elim (oaks, big trees) under every spreading tree, slaughtering the yeladim in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the wadi is thy chelek; they are thy goral; even to them [the stone idols; see Jer. 3:9] hast thou poured nesekh, thou hast offered minchah. For these [provocations], should I relent?
7 Upon a lofty and high har hast thou set up thy mishkav (bed i.e., fertility rites); there wentest thou up to offer zevach.
8 Behind the delet also and the mezuzah (doorpost) hast thou set up thy zikron ([pornographic and idolatrous] memorial); deserting Me, thou hast uncovered thyself, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy mishkav (bed) and cut [a Brit] for thee with them [fertility cult idols]; thou lovedst their mishkav (bed) where thou hast looked on their yad [i.e., phallus].
9 And thou wentest to Melech [i.e., the pagan g-d Molech, the deity of sacrificed offspring and abortions]; with shemen thou didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy [political] envoys far, even down unto Sheol.
10 Thou art wearied in the length of thy derech; yet saidst thou not, It is hopeless; thou hast found the chayyat yad (life of hand, power) of thine; therefore thou wast not faint.
11 And of whom hast thou dreaded or feared, that thou hast lived a lie, and hast not remembered Me, nor laid it to thy lev (i.e., pondered it)? Have not I held My peace me’olam (even from of old), and thou fearest Me not?
12 I will preach thy tzedakah, and thy ma’asim, that they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou criest for help, let thy [idol] kibutzim (heaps, collections) save thee; but the ruach shall carry them all away; hevel shall take them; but he that putteth his trust in Me shall inherit eretz, and shall inherit My Har Kodesh;
14 And shall say, Build ye [a road], build ye [a road], prepare the Derech, remove the michshol (stumblingblock, obstacle) from the Derech Ami (the Way, Road of My People).
15 For thus saith the High and Exalted, Shokhen Ad (the One Who abideth forever, i.e., the Shekhinah) Kadosh Shmo; I dwell in marom v’kadosh (the high and holy place), with him also that is of a contrite and lowly ruach, to revive the ruach of the shefalim (humble, lowly ones) and to revive the lev nidka’im (contrite of heart).
16 For I will not contend l’olam (forever), neither will I lanetzach (always) be in wrath; for the ruach (spirit) would grow faint before Me, even the neshamot (souls) which I have made.
17 For the avon (iniquity) of his covetousness was I in wrath, and struck him [the wicked]; I hid, and was in wrath, and he [the wicked] went on shovav (backsliding) in the derech of his lev (heart).
18 I have seen the drakhim of him [the wicked], and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore nichumim (comforts) unto him and to his avelim (mourners).
19 I create the [repentant] fruit of the lips; Shalom, shalom to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith Hashem; and I will heal him.
20 But the resha’im are like the troubled yam (sea), when it cannot sheket (be quiet), whose mayim cast up mire and mud.
21 There is no shalom, saith Elohai, for the resha’im. [T.N. For deliverance ministry fasting is a key weapon, one that is needed in spiritual warfare in the last days as we see people getting demonized and needing deliverance.]
Isaiah 57
English Standard Version
Israel's Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
(A)devout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
2 (B)he enters into peace;
they rest (C)in their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
3 But you, draw near,
sons of the sorceress,
(D)offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom (E)do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of (F)transgression,
(G)the offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among (H)the oaks,[a]
under every green tree,
(I)who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of (J)the valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things?
7 (K)On a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, (L)you have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
(M)you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness.[b]
9 You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
(N)you sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
(O)but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint.[c]
11 (P)Whom did you dread and fear,
(Q)so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
(R)Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
13 (S)When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
(T)But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit (U)my holy mountain.
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it shall be said,
(V)“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
15 For thus says (W)the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is (X)Holy:
(Y)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also (Z)with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
(AA)to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 (AB)For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his (AC)unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, (AD)but I will heal him;
I will lead him (AE)and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19 (AF)creating (AG)the fruit of the lips.
(AH)Peace, peace, (AI)to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
(AJ)“and I will heal him.
20 (AK)But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21 (AL)There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:5 Or among the terebinths
- Isaiah 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand
- Isaiah 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
