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Isaiah 57
Expanded Bible
Isaiah 57
Expanded Bible
Israel Does Not Follow God
57 ·Those who are right with God [The righteous] ·may die [perish; pass away],
but no one ·pays attention [cares; L sets/takes it to heart].
·Good people [The devout; People of lovingkindness/loyalty/covenant love] are taken away [C by death],
but no one understands.
·Those who do right [The righteous] are being taken away ·from [to be spared from; or by the power of] evil
2 and are given peace.
Those who ·live [walk] ·as God wants [uprightly]
·find rest in death [L rest on their beds].
3 “Come here, you ·magicians [L sons/children of a sorceress]!
Come here, you ·children [offspring; seed] of prostitutes and adulterers!
4 Of whom are you ·making fun [mocking; ridiculing]?
Whom are you ·insulting [sneering at; L opening your mouth at]?
At whom do you stick out your tongue?
You ·turn against God [L are children of rebellion],
and you are ·liars [L the offspring/seed of liars].
5 You ·have sexual relations [burn with lust; L inflame yourselves] beneath the oaks and under every green tree [C a reference to pagan fertility rites].
You ·kill [slaughter] children in the ·ravines [valleys]
and ·sacrifice them in the rocky places [L under the rocky clefts; C child sacrifices, like those associated with the Phoenician god Molech; Lev. 18:21; 2 Kin. 23:19; Jer. 32:35].
6 You take the smooth rocks from the ·ravines [valleys]
as your portion.
·To them you are devoted [L They, they are your lot].
You pour drink offerings ·on them to worship them [L out to them],
and you give grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [Lev. 2:1] to them.
·Do you think this makes me want to show you mercy [Should I relent because of these things; or Should I be happy about these things]?
7 You make your bed on every hill and mountain,
and there you offer sacrifices.
8 You have hidden your ·idols [signs; pagan symbols; memorials]
behind your doors and doorposts.
You have ·left [deserted] me, and you have uncovered ·yourself [or your bed].
You have ·pulled back the covers [opened it] and climbed into bed.
You have made an ·agreement [pact; covenant] with those whose beds you love,
and you have looked at their nakedness [C euphemisms for sexual relations, here referring to pagan worship].
9 You ·use your oils and perfumes
to look nice for [L went with oil and increased your perfumes for] ·Molech [or the king].
You have sent your messengers to faraway lands;
you even tried to send them to ·the place of the dead [or the grave; L Sheol].
10 You were tired from doing these things,
but you never ·gave up [L said, “It is hopeless”].
You found ·new strength [L the life of your hand],
so you did not ·quit [faint; grow weary].
11 “Whom ·were you so afraid of [L did you fear or dread]
that you lied to me?
You have not remembered me
or even ·thought about me [L set/taken it to heart].
·I [or Is It because I…?] have been quiet for a long time.
Is that why you are not afraid of me?
12 I will tell about your ‘·goodness [righteousness]’ and ·what you do [your works],
and those things will ·do you no good [not profit/help you].
13 When you cry out for help,
let ·the gods you have gathered [your collection of idols] ·help [save; rescue] you.
The wind will blow them all away;
just a ·puff of wind [breath] will take them away.
But the person who depends on me will ·receive [inherit] the land
and ·own [possess] my holy mountain.”
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Someone will say, “Build ·a road [up; or it]! Build ·a road [up; or it]! Prepare the way [40:3; 62:10]!
·Make the way clear [Remove the obstacles] for my people.”
15 And this is the reason: God lives forever and is holy.
He is high and ·lifted up [exalted].
He says, “I live in a high and holy place,
but I also live with people who are ·sad [contrite] and ·humble [lowly in spirit].
I ·give new life to [revive the spirit of] those who are ·humble [lowly]
and to those whose hearts are ·broken [contrite; repentant].
16 I will not ·accuse [or contend/fight against them] forever,
nor will I always be angry,
because then ·human life [the spirit] would grow weak.
·Human beings [L The breath], whom I created, would die.
17 I was angry because ·they were dishonest in order to make money [of their sinful greed].
I punished them and ·turned away from them [L hid my face] in anger,
but they ·continued to do evil [L turned away in the way of their heart].
18 I have seen ·what they have done [their ways], but I will heal them.
I will guide them and comfort them and those who ·felt sad for them [mourn].
·They will all praise me [I will create praise on their lips; L …creating fruit of lips].
19 ·I will give peace, real peace [L Peace, peace], to those far and near,
and I will heal them,” says the Lord.
20 But ·evil people [the wicked] are like the ·angry [surging; tossing] sea,
which cannot rest,
whose waves toss up ·waste [mire; muck] and mud.
21 “There is no peace for ·evil people [the wicked],” says my God.
Isaiah 57
New International Version
Isaiah 57
New International Version
57 The righteous perish,(A)
and no one takes it to heart;(B)
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.(C)
2 Those who walk uprightly(D)
enter into peace;
they find rest(E) as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(F)
you offspring of adulterers(G) and prostitutes!(H)
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(I)
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(J)
and under every spreading tree;(K)
you sacrifice your children(L) in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(M) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(N)
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?(O)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(P)
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(Q)
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,(R)
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(S)
9 You went to Molek[a](T) with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.(U)
You sent your ambassadors[b](V) far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!(W)
10 You wearied(X) yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(Y)
You found renewal of your strength,(Z)
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(AA)
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(AB) me
nor taken this to heart?(AC)
Is it not because I have long been silent(AD)
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(AE)
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(AF) for help,
let your collection of idols save(AG) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow(AH) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(AI) in me
will inherit the land(AJ)
and possess my holy mountain.”(AK)
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(AL)
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(AM)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(AN) One says—
he who lives forever,(AO) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(AP) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(AQ) and lowly in spirit,(AR)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(AS)
16 I will not accuse(AT) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(AU)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(AV) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(AW)
I punished them, and hid(AX) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(AY)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(AZ) them;
I will guide(BA) them and restore comfort(BB) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(BC)
Peace, peace,(BD) to those far and near,”(BE)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(BF) are like the tossing sea,(BG)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(BH) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(BI) says my God, “for the wicked.”(BJ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
Isaiah 57
King James Version
Isaiah 57
King James Version
57 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.
5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
10 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, 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 ones.
16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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