Isaiah 57:9-16

New King James Version

⁹^(A)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your ^(B)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
¹⁰You are wearied in the length of your way;
^(C)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.

¹¹“And ^(D)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 ^(E)I have ^[a]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
¹²I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
¹³When 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

¹⁴And one shall say,
^(F)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

¹⁵For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, ^(G)whose name is Holy:
^(H)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
^(I)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
^(J)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
¹⁶^(K)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls ^(L)which I have made.