Isaiah 57-61
New American Standard Bible 1995
Evil Leaders Rebuked
57 The righteous man perishes, and no man (A)takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from (B)evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their [a]beds,
Each one who (C)walked in his upright way.
3 “But come here, you sons of a (D)sorceress,
(E)Offspring of an adulterer and [b]a (F)prostitute.
4 “Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of (G)rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the [c](H)oaks,
(I)Under every luxuriant tree,
Who (J)slaughter the children in the [d]ravines,
Under the clefts of the crags?
6 “Among the [e](K)smooth stones of the [f]ravine
Is your portion, [g]they are your lot;
Even to them you have (L)poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I [h](M)relent concerning these things?
7 “Upon a (N)high and lofty mountain
You have (O)made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 “Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have (P)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their [i]bed,
You have looked on their [j]manhood.
9 “You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have (Q)sent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to [k]Sheol.
10 “You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘(R)It is hopeless.’
You found [l]renewed strength,
Therefore you did not [m]faint.
11 “Of (S)whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did (T)not remember Me
[n]Nor (U)give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?
12 “I will (V)declare your righteousness and your (W)deeds,
But they will not profit you.
13 “When you cry out, (X)let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who (Y)takes refuge in Me will (Z)inherit the land
And will (AA)possess My holy mountain.”
14 And it will be said,
“(AB)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the (AC)high and exalted One
Who [o](AD)lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I (AE)dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the (AF)contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to (AG)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 “For I will (AH)not contend forever,
(AI)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the (AJ)breath of those whom I have made.
17 “Because of the iniquity of his (AK)unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on (AL)turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but I will (AM)heal him;
I will (AN)lead him and (AO)restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the [p](AP)praise of the lips.
(AQ)Peace, peace to him who is (AR)far and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the (AS)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “(AT)There is no peace,” says (AU)my God, “for the wicked.”
Observances of Fasts
58 “(AV)Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their (AW)transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 “Yet they (AX)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done (AY)righteousness
And (AZ)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight (BA)in the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we (BB)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not [q]notice?’
Behold, on the (BC)day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and (BD)strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to (BE)make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing [r]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out (BF)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an (BG)acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To (BH)loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to (BI)let the oppressed go free
And (BJ)break every yoke?
7 “Is it not to (BK)divide your bread [s]with the hungry
And (BL)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the (BM)naked, to cover him;
And not to (BN)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 “Then your (BO)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (BP)recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your (BQ)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the (BR)Lord will be your rear guard.
9 “Then you will (BS)call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you (BT)remove the yoke from your midst,
The [t](BU)pointing of the finger and (BV)speaking wickedness,
10 And if you [u](BW)give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the [v]desire of the afflicted,
Then your (BX)light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 “And the (BY)Lord will continually guide you,
And (BZ)satisfy your [w]desire in scorched places,
And (CA)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a (CB)watered garden,
And like a (CC)spring of water whose waters do not [x]fail.
12 “Those from among you will (CD)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will (CE)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the (CF)breach,
The restorer of the [y]streets in which to dwell.
Keeping the Sabbath
13 “If because of the sabbath, you (CG)turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a (CH)delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your (CI)own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And (CJ)speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take (CK)delight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride (CL)on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the (CM)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Separation from God
59 Behold, (CN)the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
(CO)Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
2 But your (CP)iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His [z]face from you so that He does (CQ)not hear.
3 For your (CR)hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken (CS)falsehood,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 (CT)No one sues righteously and (CU)no one pleads [aa]honestly.
They (CV)trust in confusion and speak lies;
They (CW)conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs and (CX)weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.
6 Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they (CY)cover themselves with their works;
Their (CZ)works are works of iniquity,
And an (DA)act of violence is in their [ab]hands.
7 (DB)Their feet run to evil,
And they hasten to shed innocent blood;
(DC)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
8 They do not know the (DD)way of peace,
And there is (DE)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
(DF)Whoever treads on [ac]them does not know peace.
A Confession of Wickedness
9 Therefore (DG)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We (DH)hope for light, but behold, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We (DI)grope along the wall like blind men,
We grope like those who have no eyes;
We (DJ)stumble at midday as in the twilight,
Among those who are vigorous we are (DK)like dead men.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (DL)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (DM)justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (DN)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our (DO)sins [ad]testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And [ae]we know our iniquities:
13 Transgressing and (DP)denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking (DQ)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving in and (DR)uttering from the heart lying words.
14 (DS)Justice is turned back,
And (DT)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
15 Yes, truth is lacking;
And he who turns aside from evil (DU)makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was [af]displeasing in His sight (DV)that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was (DW)no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His (DX)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on (DY)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a (DZ)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on (EA)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with (EB)zeal as a mantle.
18 (EC)According to their [ag]deeds, [ah]so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will [ai]make recompense.
19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the (ED)west
And His glory from the (EE)rising of the sun,
For He will (EF)come like a [aj]rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 “A (EG)Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who (EH)turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.
21 “As for Me, this is My (EI)covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My (EJ)Spirit which is upon you, and My (EK)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your [ak]offspring, nor from the mouth of your [al]offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
A Glorified Zion
60 “(EL)Arise, shine; for your (EM)light has come,
And the (EN)glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 “For behold, (EO)darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His (EP)glory will appear upon you.
3 “(EQ)Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “(ER)Lift up your eyes round about and see;
They all gather together, they (ES)come to you.
Your sons will come from afar,
And your (ET)daughters will be [am]carried in the arms.
5 “Then you will see and be (EU)radiant,
And your heart will [an]thrill and rejoice;
Because the (EV)abundance of the sea will be turned to you,
The (EW)wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 “A multitude of camels will cover you,
The young camels of Midian and (EX)Ephah;
All those from (EY)Sheba will come;
They will bring (EZ)gold and frankincense,
And will (FA)bear good news of the praises of the Lord.
7 “All the flocks of (FB)Kedar will be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you;
They will go up with acceptance on My (FC)altar,
And I shall [ao](FD)glorify My [ap]glorious house.
8 “(FE)Who are these who fly like a cloud
And like the doves to their [aq]lattices?
9 “Surely the (FF)coastlands will wait for Me;
And the (FG)ships of Tarshish will come first,
To (FH)bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
For the name of the Lord your God,
And for the Holy One of Israel because He has [ar](FI)glorified you.
10 “(FJ)Foreigners will build up your walls,
And their (FK)kings will minister to you;
For in My (FL)wrath I struck you,
And in My favor I have had compassion on you.
11 “Your (FM)gates will be open continually;
They will not be closed day or night,
So that men may (FN)bring to you the wealth of the nations,
With (FO)their kings led in procession.
12 “For the (FP)nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish,
And the nations will be utterly ruined.
13 “The (FQ)glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The (FR)juniper, the box tree and the cypress together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I shall make the (FS)place of My feet glorious.
14 “The (FT)sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet;
And they will call you the (FU)city of the Lord,
The (FV)Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Whereas you have been (FW)forsaken and (FX)hated
With no one passing through,
I will make you an everlasting (FY)pride,
A joy from generation to generation.
16 “You will also (FZ)suck the milk of nations
And suck the breast of kings;
Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your (GA)Savior
And your (GB)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
And instead of iron I will bring silver,
And instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
And I will make peace your administrators
And righteousness your overseers.
18 “(GC)Violence will not be heard again in your land,
Nor (GD)devastation or destruction within your borders;
But you will call your (GE)walls salvation, and your (GF)gates praise.
19 “No longer will you have the (GG)sun for light by day,
Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;
But you will have the (GH)Lord for an everlasting light,
And your (GI)God for your [as]glory.
20 “Your (GJ)sun will no longer set,
Nor will your moon wane;
For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light,
And the days of your (GK)mourning will be over.
21 “Then all your (GL)people will be righteous;
They will (GM)possess the land forever,
The branch of [at]My planting,
The (GN)work of My hands,
That I may be (GO)glorified.
22 “The (GP)smallest one will become a [au]clan,
And the least one a mighty nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
Exaltation of the Afflicted
61 The (GQ)Spirit of the Lord [av]God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To (GR)bring good news to the [aw](GS)afflicted;
He has sent me to (GT)bind up the brokenhearted,
To (GU)proclaim liberty to captives
And [ax]freedom to prisoners;
2 To (GV)proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the (GW)day of vengeance of our God;
To (GX)comfort all who mourn,
3 To (GY)grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The (GZ)oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called [ay](HA)oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
4 Then they will (HB)rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 (HC)Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And [az]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the (HD)priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as (HE)ministers of our God.
You will eat the (HF)wealth of nations,
And in their [ba]riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your (HG)shame you will have a (HH)double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
(HI)Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, (HJ)love justice,
I hate robbery [bb]in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an (HK)everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the (HL)offspring whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will (HM)rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in (HN)my God;
For He has (HO)clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And (HP)as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the (HQ)earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord [bc]God will (HR)cause (HS)righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:2 I.e. graves
- Isaiah 57:3 So ancient versions; Heb she prostitutes herself
- Isaiah 57:5 Or terebinths
- Isaiah 57:5 Or wadis
- Isaiah 57:6 I.e. symbols of fertility gods
- Isaiah 57:6 Or wadi
- Isaiah 57:6 Lit they, they
- Isaiah 57:6 Or repent
- Isaiah 57:8 Or lying down
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit hand
- Isaiah 57:9 I.e. the nether world
- Isaiah 57:10 Lit the life of your hand
- Isaiah 57:10 Or become sick
- Isaiah 57:11 Lit You did not set it upon your heart
- Isaiah 57:15 Or dwells in eternity
- Isaiah 57:19 Lit fruit of the lips
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit know
- Isaiah 58:5 Lit his
- Isaiah 58:7 Lit for
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit sending out
- Isaiah 58:10 Lit furnish
- Isaiah 58:10 Or soul
- Isaiah 58:11 Or soul
- Isaiah 58:11 Or deceive
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit paths
- Isaiah 59:2 So versions; M.T. faces
- Isaiah 59:4 Lit in truth
- Isaiah 59:6 Lit palms
- Isaiah 59:8 Lit it
- Isaiah 59:12 Lit answer
- Isaiah 59:12 Lit our iniquities we know them
- Isaiah 59:15 Or evil
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit recompense
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit accordingly
- Isaiah 59:18 Lit repay
- Isaiah 59:19 Lit narrow
- Isaiah 59:21 Lit seed
- Isaiah 59:21 Lit seed
- Isaiah 60:4 Lit nursed upon the side
- Isaiah 60:5 Lit tremble and be enlarged
- Isaiah 60:7 Or beautify
- Isaiah 60:7 Or beautiful
- Isaiah 60:8 Or dovecotes, windows
- Isaiah 60:9 Lit beautified
- Isaiah 60:19 Or beauty
- Isaiah 60:21 Lit His
- Isaiah 60:22 Or thousand
- Isaiah 61:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 61:1 Or humble
- Isaiah 61:1 Lit opening to those who are bound
- Isaiah 61:3 Or terebinths
- Isaiah 61:5 Lit sons of the foreigner
- Isaiah 61:6 Or glory
- Isaiah 61:8 Or with iniquity
- Isaiah 61:11 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
