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.
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Isaiah 57: TEG
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 57
57
Israel’s Idolatry
1The godly perish,
but no one seems to notice.
The faithful ones are taken away,
and no one understands.
It is because of evil
that they are preserved from calamity,
2and the godly ones enter into peace,
resting serenely upon their death beds.
3“But you—come here, you son of a sorceress!
You’re nothing but an offspring
of an adulteress and a prostitute. # 57:3 This is a vivid picture of those who practice idolatry. See James 4:4.
4Who do you think you’re mocking?
At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue?
Why, you’re a rebellious child, the offspring of liars!
5You burn with lust for other gods
among the oak groves and under every green tree.
You sacrifice your own children in the caves # 57:5 See 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6.
near the bed of a stream.
6From there you take smooth stones
and worship them as idols.
Yes, they become your idols!
You bring them grain offerings
and pour out wine as drink offerings.
Do you think I will not seek vengeance for this?
7On a high hill, you practice ritual sex # 57:7 Or “On high you set up your bed.”
and go up to the lofty place to offer sacrifice.
8Hidden inside your front doors
you have set up your obscene idols. # 57:8 Or “[phallic] symbols.”
Forsaking me, you went up
and uncovered yourself
and climbed into your wide bed.
You made covenant with them for yourselves,
you slept with them, and you gazed upon their nakedness.
9You journeyed to the king # 57:9 Or “to [the Canaanite god] Molech.” with oil
along with many perfumes.
You sent your envoys to exotic lands,
even down to the underworld. # 57:9 Or “to Sheol.”
10Though all your wanderings wearied you,
you never said, ‘I give up.’
Your strength was renewed
so that you did not faint.
11“Why were you so afraid of them that you told lies
and did not remember me or even care what I thought?
Is it because I have been patient and long silent
that you no longer fear me?
12I will denounce your presumed ‘righteousness’
and your ‘good works,’
so don’t trust in your idols to help you.
13Let’s see if your pantheon of idols can save you when you cry out!
They will be blown away by the wind; # 57:13 Or “spirit.”
merely a breath will carry them off!
But whoever makes me a hiding place
will possess the land and inherit my holy mountain.” # 57:13 That is, Mount Zion. The believer today inherits the kingdom of God, the Zion-realm. See Ps. 37:9, 11; 69:35–36; Isa. 49:8; Matt. 5:5; Heb. 12:22.
A Promise of Revival and Healing
14Yahweh says, “Let the people return to me.
Build! Build up the road, clear the way, and get it ready!
Remove every obstacle from their path.”
15For this is what the high and majestic one says,
the one who fills the eternal realm with glory, # 57:15 The Hebrew word shakan (related to shekinah) means “to dwell or settle.” The implication is that God inhabits eternity, filling it with his glory.
whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in high and holy places
but also with the bruised and lowly in spirit,
those who are humble and quick to repent.
I dwell with them to revive the spirit of the humble,
to revive the heart of those who are broken over their sin.
16You will not find me continually accusing them # 57:16 Or “continually striving with them.”
or holding anger against them,
lest they feel defeated and lose heart before me.
For I am the One who gave the breath of life to my people.
17It was their sin and greed that made me angry,
so I struck them and hid my face from them.
But they continued in rebellion, following their own desires.
18Even though I’ve seen their ways, I will heal them. # 57:18 This is the same Hebrew word found in Isa. 53:5. See Hos. 6:1–3.
I will guide them forward and repay them with comfort,
giving mourners the language of praise. # 57:18 It is possible to see in this verse the progression of the worshiper from the outer court (healing), forward into the Holy Place, until he is drenched with God’s comforting presence in the Holy of Holies, where he releases his language of praise.
19I offer peace to those who are far from me,
and I offer peace to those who are near, # 57:19 See Eph. 2:11–22.
and I will heal their deepest wounds,” says Yahweh.
20“But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,
whose restless waves are never still,
stirring up mud and mire.
21There is no peace # 57:21 Or “well-being” or “prosperity.” for the wicked,” says my God.
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