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
Isaiah 57
World English Bible
57 The righteous perish,
and no one lays it to heart.
Merciful men are taken away,
and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil.
2 He enters into peace.
They rest in their beds,
each one who walks in his uprightness.
3 “But draw near here, you sons of a sorceress,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes.
4 Whom do you mock?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
and stick out your tongue?
Aren’t you children of disobedience
and offspring of falsehood,
5 you who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
under every green tree;
who kill the children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion.
They, they are your lot.
You have even poured a drink offering to them.
You have offered an offering.
Shall I be appeased for these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 You have set up your memorial behind the doors and the posts,
for you have exposed yourself to someone besides me,
and have gone up.
You have enlarged your bed
and made you a covenant with them.
You loved what you saw on their bed.
9 You went to the king with oil,
increased your perfumes,
sent your ambassadors far off,
and degraded yourself even to Sheol.[a]
10 You were wearied with the length of your ways;
yet you didn’t say, ‘It is in vain.’
You found a reviving of your strength;
therefore you weren’t faint.
11 “Whom have you dreaded and feared,
so that you lie,
and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart?
Haven’t I held my peace for a long time,
and you don’t fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness;
and as for your works, they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry,
let those whom you have gathered deliver you,
but the wind will take them.
A breath will carry them all away,
but he who takes refuge in me will possess the land,
and will inherit my holy mountain.”
14 He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way!
Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.”
15 For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry;
for the spirit would faint before me,
and the souls whom I have made.
17 I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness and struck him.
I hid myself and was angry;
and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him.
I will lead him also,
and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
says Yahweh; “and I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea;
for it can’t rest and its waters cast up mire and mud.
21 “There is no peace”, says my God,
“for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- 57:9 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Isaiah 57
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 57
1 Those who are righteous perish,
but no one takes it to heart.
Those who are devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
2 Those who have walked uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.
The Unrighteous
3 But as for you, come here,
you children of a sorceress,
you offspring of an adulterer and a harlot!
4 Whom are you mocking?
At whom do you open your mouths
and stick out your tongues?
Are you not a rebellious brood,
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks
and under every spreading tree,
sacrificing your children in the ravines
and under the clefts in the rocks.[a]
6 The smooth stones of the ravines will be your portion;
these are your lot.
To them you poured out libations
and brought forth your cereal offerings.
Should such acts appease me?
7 Upon a high and lofty mountain
you have placed your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have displayed your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you have uncovered your bed;
you climbed into it and opened it wide.
You struck a profitable bargain
with those whose beds you love,
and you gazed endlessly at their nakedness.
9 You approached the king with oil,
having lavished your body with perfumes.
You sent forth your procurers far and wide,
even to the depths of Sheol.[b]
10 Although exhausted by your endless travels,
you never said, “It is useless.”
You realized that your desire had been rekindled,
and so you never gave up.
11 Whom did you so greatly dread and fear
that you betrayed me
and no longer remembered me
or gave me any thought?
Is it because I was silent for so long a time
that you do not fear me?
12 Now I will expose your conduct
that you regard as so righteous.
13 When you cry out for help,
your collection of idols will not save you.
The wind will carry off all of them;
a gentle breeze will bear them away.
But whoever makes me his refuge
will possess the land
and inherit my holy mountain.
Compassion for the Afflicted
14 Then the Lord will say:
Build up, build up! Prepare the way!
Remove every obstruction from my people’s path.
15 For thus says the One who is high and exalted,
who lives eternally
and whose name is holy:
I dwell in a high and holy place
but I am with the contrite and the humble,
to revive the spirit of the humble
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 I will not accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry.
For then the spirits of the souls that I have made
would grow faint because of me.
17 Because of their wicked avarice I was angry,
and I struck them, keeping myself hidden,
but they continued on their rebellious path.
18 I saw how they behaved, but I will heal them;
I will lead them and fill them with consolation,
both them and those who mourn for them.
19 Peace, peace to all, both far and near,
and I will heal them, says the Lord.
20 But the wicked are like the restless sea that cannot be still;
its waters cast up mud and dirt.
21 There is no peace for the wicked,
says my God.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:5 The reference is to fertility cults.
- Isaiah 57:9 If there is a play on the Hebrew word melek, Molech is perhaps the king (see 2 Ki 23:10); the second part of the verse alludes to the worship of underworld divinities or of the dead.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Knijga O Kristu (Croatian New Testament)
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