Isaiah 57
Complete Jewish Bible
57 The righteous person perishes,
and nobody gives it a thought.
Godly men are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous person is taken away
from the evil yet to come.
2 Yes, those who live uprightly
will have peace as they rest on their couches.
3 “But you, you witches’ children, come here,
you spawn of adulterers and whores!
4 Whom are you making fun of?
At whom are you laughing and sticking out your tongue?
Aren’t you rebellious children,
just a brood of liars?
5 You go into heat among the oak trees,
under every spreading tree.
You kill the children in the valleys
under the cracks in the rocks.
6 Your place is among the smooth stones in the vadi;
these, these are what you deserve;
you pour out drink offerings to them,
you offer grain offerings to them.
Should I calmly ignore these things?
7 You set up your bed on a high, lofty mountain;
you also went up there to offer sacrifices.
8 Behind door and doorpost
you set up your [lewd] memorial;
then, far from me, you uncovered your bed,
climbed up on it and opened it wide,
made an agreement with some of them,
whose bed you loved when you saw their hand beckoning.
9 You went to the king with scented oil;
you added to your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away,
even down to Sh’ol.
10 Though worn out by so much travel,
you did not say, ‘All hope is gone’;
rather, finding your strength renewed,
you did not grow weak.
11 Of whom have you been so afraid,
so fearful that you lied?
But me you don’t remember,
you don’t give me a thought!
I have held my peace so long
that you no longer fear me.
12 I will expose your [so-called] ‘righteousness’;
and what you have done won’t help you.
13 When you cry, will those [idols] you gathered rescue you?
The wind will carry them all away,
a puff of air will take them off.
But whoever takes refuge in me will possess
the land and inherit my holy mountain.”
14 Then he will say,
“Keep building! Keep building! Clear the way!
Remove everything blocking my people’s path!”
15 For thus says the High, Exalted One
who lives forever, whose name is Holy:
“I live in the high and holy place
but also with the broken and humble,
in order to revive the spirit of the humble
and revive the hearts of the broken ones.
16 For I will not fight them forever
or always nurse my anger;
otherwise their spirits would faint before me,
the creatures I myself have made.
17 It was because of their flagrant greed
that I was angry and struck them;
I hid myself and was angry,
but they continued on their own rebellious way.
18 I have seen their ways, and I will heal them;
I will lead them and give comfort
to them and to those who mourn for them —
19 I will create the right words:
‘Shalom shalom to those far off
and to those nearby!’ says Adonai;
‘I will heal them!’”
20 But the wicked are like the restless sea —
unable to be still,
its waters toss up mud and dirt.
21 There is no shalom, says my God,
for the wicked.
Jesaja 57
Het Boek
De vrede van God
57 Rechtvaardige mensen verdwijnen, de vromen sterven te vroeg, maar niemand schijnt zich er iets van aan te trekken of zich af te vragen waarom dat gebeurt. Niemand schijnt te beseffen dat God hen wegneemt voordat de kwade dagen komen. 2 Zij zullen in vrede rusten, allen die in hun leven de rechte weg bewandelen. 3 Maar u: kom hier, heksenzonen, kinderen van echtbrekers en overspelige vrouwen! 4 Wie bespot u? Tegen wie trekt u gezichten en steekt u de tong uit? Kinderen van zondaars en leugenaars! 5 Met veel overgave aanbidt u uw afgoden in de schaduw van elke boom en in de dalen slacht u uw kinderen als mensenoffers onder de overhangende rotsen. 6 De gladde stenen in de dalen zijn uw goden. U aanbidt ze en zij, niet Ik, zijn uw erfenis. Moet dit alles Mij gelukkig maken? 7,8 U hebt overspel gepleegd op de heuveltoppen, want u aanbidt daar uw afgoden en laat Mij in de steek. Achter gesloten deuren zet u uw afgodsbeelden op en aanbidt niet Mij, maar iemand anders. Dat is overspel, want u geeft deze afgoden uw liefde in plaats van Mij lief te hebben. 9 U bracht geurig reukwerk en parfum als geschenk naar Moloch. U hebt ver gereisd, zelfs naar het dodenrijk, om nieuwe goden te vinden van wie u kon houden. 10 U werd moedeloos tijdens het zoeken, maar u gaf het niet op. U sprak uzelf moed in en ging door. 11 Waarom was u banger voor hen dan voor Mij? Hoe is het mogelijk dat u zelfs geen moment aan Mij hebt gedacht? Ben Ik te vriendelijk geweest, zodat u voor Mij geen angst voelt? 12 En dan zijn daar uw ‘gerechtigheid’ en uw ‘goede werken’, maar die zullen u niet redden. 13 Laten we maar eens kijken of uw hele verzameling afgoden u kan helpen als u schreeuwt om hulp! Zij zijn zo zwak dat de wind ze zonder moeite wegblaast! Ze tuimelen al om van een ademtocht.
Maar wie op Mij vertrouwt, zal het land bezitten en mijn heilige berg erven. 14 Ik zal zeggen: herstel de weg! Haal de rotsen en stenen weg! Maak een goed begaanbare hoofdweg klaar voor de terugkomst van mijn volk uit gevangenschap. 15 De hoge en doorluchtige, die de eeuwigheid bewoont, de Heilige, zegt: Ik leef in die hoge en heilige plaats, maar ook bij ieder die berouwvol en nederig is, Ik verfris de nederigen en geef nieuwe moed aan mensen met een berouwvol hart. 16 Want Ik zal niet altijd tegen u vechten, noch voor altijd mijn toorn op u loslaten. Als Ik dat deed, zou de hele mensheid verdwijnen, mensen die Ik Zelf gemaakt heb. 17 Ik was boos en sloeg deze begerige mensen neer. Maar zij gingen gewoon door met zondigen en deden alles wat hun zondige hart wilde. 18 Ik heb gezien wat zij doen, maar toch zal Ik hen genezen! Ik zal hen leiden en troosten, hen helpen met berouw hun zonden te belijden. 19 Vrede, vrede voor hen, dichtbij en veraf, want Ik zal hen allemaal genezen. 20 Maar zij die Mij blijven afwijzen, zijn als de rusteloze zee die nooit stilligt, maar altijd modder en vuil opwoelt. 21 Voor hen, zegt mijn God, is er geen vrede!
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 © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Het Boek Copyright © 1979, 1988, 2007 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
