Isaiah 57:1-10

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.
²He 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!
⁴Whom 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,
⁵Inflaming yourselves with gods ^(E)under every green tree,
^(F)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
⁶Among 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.
⁸Also 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.
¹⁰You 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.