Isaiah 57
Common English Bible
57 The righteous person perishes,
and no one takes it to heart.
Loyal people are gathered together,
and no one understands that because of evil
the righteous one passed away.
2 They will find peace;
those who walk in straight paths
will find rest on their burial beds.
Accusations against idolators
3 Come here, you children of sorcery,
offspring of adultery and prostitution!
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Aren’t you children of rebellion, offspring of lies,
5 who console yourselves with idols under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the valleys, under the rocky cliffs?
6 You belong with the smooth talkers[a] in the valley;
they, they are your lot.
For them you poured out a drink offering,
and presented a grain offering.
Should I condone these things?
7 On a very high mountain you made your bed.
You went up there to offer a sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you placed your symbols.
You abandoned me and lay down,
making room in your bed
and making deals for yourself with them.[b]
You loved their bed;
you saw their nakedness.
9 You went down to Molech[c] with oil,
and you slathered on your ointments;
you sent your messengers far away,
sent them down to the underworld.[d]
10 Worn out by all your efforts,
yet you wouldn’t say, “This is useless.”
You found new strength;
therefore, you weren’t tired.
11 Whom did you dread and fear so that you lied,
didn’t remember me or give me a thought?
Isn’t it because I was silent and closed my eyes
that you stopped fearing me?
12 I will bring evidence about your righteousness and your actions;
they won’t help you.
13 When you cry out,
let those things you’ve gathered save you!
The wind will lift them all;
one breath will take them away.
but those taking refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.
Peace for the remorseful
14 It will be said: “Survey, survey; build a road!
Remove barriers from my people’s road!”
15 The one who is high and lifted up,
who lives forever, whose name is holy, says:
I live on high, in holiness,
and also with the crushed[e] and the lowly,
reviving the spirit of the lowly,
reviving the heart of those who have been crushed.[f]
16 I won’t always accuse,
nor will I be enraged forever.
It is my own doing that their spirit is exhausted—
I gave them breath!
17 I was enraged about their illegal profits;
I struck them; in rage I withdrew from them.
Yet they went on wandering wherever they wanted.
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them.
I will guide them,
and reward them with comfort.
And for those who mourn,
19 I will create reason for praise:[g]
utter prosperity to those far and near,
and I will heal them, says the Lord.
20 But the wicked are like the churning sea that can’t keep still.
They churn up from their waters muck and mud.
21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:6 Or smooth things
- Isaiah 57:8 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 57:9 Or the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 57:15 Or contrite
- Isaiah 57:15 Or contrite
- Isaiah 57:19 Heb uncertain
Isaiah 57
The Message
Never Tired of Trying New Religions
57 1-2 Meanwhile, right-living people die
and no one gives them a thought.
God-fearing people are carted off
and no one even notices.
The right-living people are out of their misery,
they’re finally at rest.
They lived well and with dignity
and now they’re finally at peace.
* * *
3-10 “But you, children of a witch, come here!
Sons of a slut, daughters of a whore.
What business do you have taunting,
sneering, and sticking out your tongue?
Do you have any idea what wretches you’ve turned out to be?
A race of rebels, a generation of liars.
You satisfy your lust any place you find some shade
and fornicate at whim.
You kill your children at any convenient spot—
any cave or crevasse will do.
You take stones from the creek
and set up your sex-and-religion shrines.
You’ve chosen your fate.
Your worship will be your doom.
You’ve climbed a high mountain
to practice your foul sex-and-death religion.
Behind closed doors
you assemble your precious gods and goddesses.
Deserting me, you’ve gone all out, stripped down
and made your bed your place of worship.
You’ve climbed into bed with the ‘sacred’ whores
and loved every minute of it,
adoring every curve of their naked bodies.
You anoint your king-god with ointments
and lavish perfumes on yourselves.
You send scouts to search out the latest in religion,
send them all the way to hell and back.
You wear yourselves out trying the new and the different,
and never see what a waste it all is.
You’ve always found strength for the latest fad,
never got tired of trying new religions.
11-13 “Who talked you into the pursuit of this nonsense,
leaving me high and dry,
forgetting you ever knew me?
Because I don’t yell and make a scene,
do you think I don’t exist?
I’ll go over, detail by detail, all your ‘righteous’ attempts at religion,
and expose the absurdity of it all.
Go ahead, cry for help to your collection of no-gods:
A good wind will blow them away.
They’re smoke, nothing but smoke.
“But anyone who runs to me for help
will inherit the land,
will end up owning my holy mountain!”
* * *
14 Someone says: “Build, build! Make a road!
Clear the way, remove the rocks
from the road my people will travel.”
15-21 A Message from the high and towering God,
who lives in Eternity,
whose name is Holy:
“I live in the high and holy places,
but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed,
And what I do is put new spirit in them,
get them up and on their feet again.
For I’m not going to haul people into court endlessly,
I’m not going to be angry forever.
Otherwise, people would lose heart.
These souls I created would tire out and give up.
I was angry, good and angry, because of Israel’s sins.
I struck him hard and turned away in anger,
while he kept at his stubborn, willful ways.
When I looked again and saw what he was doing,
I decided to heal him, lead him, and comfort him,
creating a new language of praise for the mourners.
Peace to the far-off, peace to the near-at-hand,” says God—
“and yes, I will heal them.
But the wicked are storm-battered seas
that can’t quiet down.
The waves stir up garbage and mud.
There’s no peace,” God says, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 57
New Living Translation
57 Good people pass away;
the godly often die before their time.
But no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
2 For those who follow godly paths
will rest in peace when they die.
Idolatrous Worship Condemned
3 “But you—come here, you witches’ children,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
4 Whom do you mock,
making faces and sticking out your tongues?
You children of sinners and liars!
5 You worship your idols with great passion
beneath the oaks and under every green tree.
You sacrifice your children down in the valleys,
among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.
6 Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys.
You worship them with liquid offerings and grain offerings.
They, not I, are your inheritance.
Do you think all this makes me happy?
7 You have committed adultery on every high mountain.
There you have worshiped idols
and have been unfaithful to me.
8 You have put pagan symbols
on your doorposts and behind your doors.
You have left me
and climbed into bed with these detestable gods.
You have committed yourselves to them.
You love to look at their naked bodies.
9 You have gone to Molech[a]
with olive oil and many perfumes,
sending your agents far and wide,
even to the world of the dead.[b]
10 You grew weary in your search,
but you never gave up.
Desire gave you renewed strength,
and you did not grow weary.
11 “Are you afraid of these idols?
Do they terrify you?
Is that why you have lied to me
and forgotten me and my words?
Is it because of my long silence
that you no longer fear me?
12 Now I will expose your so-called good deeds.
None of them will help you.
13 Let’s see if your idols can save you
when you cry to them for help.
Why, a puff of wind can knock them down!
If you just breathe on them, they fall over!
But whoever trusts in me will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain.”
God Forgives the Repentant
14 God says, “Rebuild the road!
Clear away the rocks and stones
so my people can return from captivity.”
15 The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
16 For I will not fight against you forever;
I will not always be angry.
If I were, all people would pass away—
all the souls I have made.
17 I was angry,
so I punished these greedy people.
I withdrew from them,
but they kept going on their own stubborn way.
18 I have seen what they do,
but I will heal them anyway!
I will lead them.
I will comfort those who mourn,
19 bringing words of praise to their lips.
May they have abundant peace, both near and far,”
says the Lord, who heals them.
20 “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,
which is never still
but continually churns up mud and dirt.
21 There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.
Isaiah 57
Amplified Bible
Evil Leaders Rebuked
57 The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart;
Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understands
That the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil.
2
He enters into peace [through death];
They rest in their beds (graves),
Each one who walked uprightly [following God’s will, living with integrity].
3
“But come here, you sons of a sorceress [raised in deception and superstition],
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.
4
“Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion (sin),
Offspring of deceit,
5
Who inflame yourselves [with lust in pagan rites] among the oaks (terebinth trees),
Under every green and leafy tree,
Who slaughter the children [in sacrifice] in the ravines
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6
“Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I be quiet concerning these things [leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience]?
7
“Upon a high and lofty mountain
You have [openly and shamelessly] made your [idolatrous and adulterous] bed;
Even there you went up to offer sacrifice [to idols, in spiritual unfaithfulness to Me].
8
“Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your [pagan] symbol;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made a [new] agreement for yourself with the adulterers,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked [with passion] on their [a]manhood.(A)
9
“You have gone to [b]the king [of a pagan land] with oil
And increased your [c]perfumes;
You have sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead).
10
“You were wearied by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is no use.’
You found [d]renewed strength,
Therefore you did not grow weak.
11
“About whom were you worried and fearful
That you lied and did not [e]remember Me,
Nor [f]give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
And [as a result] you do not fear Me?
12
“I will declare your [hypocritical] righteousness and your deeds,
But they will not benefit you.
13
“When you cry out [for help], let your [ridiculous] collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A [mere] breath will take them.
But he who takes refuge in Me will possess the land [Judea]
And will inherit My holy mountain.”(B)
14
And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, clear the way.
Remove the stumbling block out of the way [of the spiritual return] of My people.”
15
For the high and exalted One
He who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy says this,
“I dwell on the high and holy place,
But also with the [g]contrite and humble in spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the humble
And to revive the heart of the contrite [overcome with sorrow for sin].(C)
16
“For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For [if I did stay angry] the spirit [of man] would grow weak before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have created.
17
“Because of the wickedness of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away and backsliding, in the way of his [own willful] heart.
18
“I have seen his [willful] ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him [also] and will restore comfort to him and to those who mourn for him,(D)
19
As I create the [h]praise of his lips,
Peace, peace, to him who is far away [both Jew and Gentile] and to him who is near!”
Says the Lord;
“And I will heal him [making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise].”(E)
20
But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up mire and mud.
21
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit hand.
- Isaiah 57:9 Another reading is Molech, i.e. to an idol of the pagan god.
- Isaiah 57:9 Lit ointments.
- Isaiah 57:10 Lit the life of your hand.
- Isaiah 57:11 Or mention.
- Isaiah 57:11 Lit put on your heart.
- Isaiah 57:15 Lit crushed.
- Isaiah 57:19 Lit fruit.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
