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
1The righteous person perishes,
and no one takes it to heart;
the faithful are taken away,
with no one realizing
that the righteous person is taken away
because of#57:1 Or taken away from the presence of evil.
2He will enter into peace —
they will rest on their beds#57:2 Either their deathbeds or their graves —
everyone who lives uprightly.
Pagan Religion Denounced
3But come here,
you witch’s sons,
offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!#57:3 Lit and she acted as a prostitute
4Who are you mocking?
Who are you opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue at?
Isn’t it you, you rebellious children,#Is 30:1,9
you offspring of liars,
5who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,#2Kg 16:4; Jr 2:20; 3:13
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?#2Kg 23:10; Ps 106:37–38; Jr 7:31; Ezk 16:20–21
6Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi;
indeed, they are your lot.
You have even poured out a drink offering to them;
you have offered a grain offering;
should I be satisfied with these?
7You have placed your bed
on a high and lofty mountain;#Jr 3:6; Ezk 16:16
you also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8You have set up your memorial
behind the door and doorpost.
For away from me, you stripped,
went up, and made your bed wide,#Ezk 23:17–18
and you have made a bargain#57:8 Lit you cut for yourself with them.
You have loved their bed;
you have gazed on their genitals.#57:8 Lit hand#57:8 In Hb, the word “hand” is probably a euphemism for genitals.
9You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away#Ezk 16:26–29
and sent them down even to Sheol.
10You became weary on your many journeys,
but you did not say, “It’s hopeless!” #Jr 2:25; 18:12
You found a renewal of your strength;#57:10 Lit found life of your hand
therefore you did not grow weak.
11Who was it you dreaded and feared,
so that you lied and didn’t remember me
or take it to heart?
I have kept silent for a long time, haven’t I?#57:11 LXX reads And I, when I see you, I pass by#Ps 50:21; Is 42:14
So you do not fear me.
12I will announce your righteousness,
and your works — they will not profit you.
13When you cry out,
let your collection of idols rescue you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me
will inherit the land#Ps 37:3,9; Is 25:4
and possess my holy mountain.#Is 65:9
Healing and Peace
14He said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
remove every obstacle from my people’s way.”#Is 62:10; Jr 18:15
15For the High and Exalted One,
who lives forever, whose name is holy,#Lk 1:49 says this:
“I live in a high and holy place,
and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,#Ps 34:18; 51:17; Is 66:2
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and revive the heart of the oppressed.#Ps 147:3; Is 61:1–3
16For I will not accuse you forever,
and I will not always be angry;#Gn 6:3; Ps 103:9; Jr 3:12
for then the spirit would grow weak before me,
even the breath, which I have made.
17Because of his sinful greed I was angry,#Is 2:7; 56:11; Jr 6:13
so I struck him; I was angry and hid;
but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.
18I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort
to him and his mourners,#Is 61:1–3
19creating words of praise.”#57:19 Lit creating fruit of the lips#Is 6:7; 51:16; 59:21; Heb 13:15
The Lord says,
“Peace, peace to the one who is far or near,#Ac 2:39; Eph 2:17
and I will heal him.
20But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,#Ps 107:29
for it cannot be still,
and its water churns up mire and muck.
21There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.#Is 48:22; 59:8
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