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New Testament
Isaiah 57
There Will Be Peace for the Righteous Even in Death
571The righteous one perishes,
but no one takes it to heart.
but no one understands
that the righteous one is being spared from evil.
2He will enter into peace.
They will rest on their beds.
The Coming Judgment Against Israel's Leaders
3But you there, come closer,
you children of a witch,
you offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.
Who are you making faces at and sticking out your tongue?
Aren't you all children born in rebellion,
the offspring of deceit,
5you who are in heat among the oaks and under every green tree,
you who slaughter children in the ravines under the rugged cliffs?
6Your chosen territory is among the smooth stones of the ravines.
They, yes, they, are your lot.
You even poured out a drink offering to them,
and you offered up a grain offering.
Since you have done these things, should I spare you?
7Upon a mountain, high and lofty, you spread out your bed.
Yes, you went up there to offer a sacrifice.
8Behind the door and doorpost you placed your memorial.
You climbed right into bed.
You made room for them in your bed.
You committed yourself to them.
You loved their bed.
and you made many offerings of incense.
You sent your messengers to a distant land.
10Because of the length of your journey, you became weary,
but you did not say, “It is hopeless!”
So you found new strength, and you did not faint.
11But who is making you so anxious and so afraid that you practice deception?
You did not remember me
and did not keep me in your heart.
Is it because I have been silent for a long time
that you do not fear me?
12I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not benefit you.
13When you cry out for help,
let your collections of idols deliver you.
But the wind will blow them all away.
A breeze will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in me will inherit the land.
He will possess my holy mountain.
“Build up, build up the highway.
Prepare the way.
Remove the stumbling block from the way of my people.”
15Certainly this is what the High and Lofty One says,
the one who dwells with his people forever,
and whose name is holy:
I dwell in a high and holy place,
yet also with the one who is crushed and lowly in spirit,
in order to revive the spirit of those who have been pushed down,
and to revive the hearts of those who have been crushed.
16Surely I will not accuse forever,
and I will not always be angry,
because every spirit would grow weak in my presence,
and every breath of life, which I made, would fail.
17Because of the guilt from their selfish gain, I was angry,
and I struck them and hid my face.
I was angry,
18I saw his ways,
but I will heal him, and I will lead him,
and I will restore comfort to him
and to all who mourn with him.
Peace, peace to the one far off and to the one nearby,
says the Lord,
and I will heal him.
20But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
which is not able to rest.
Its waters toss up dirt and mud.
21There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Footnotes
- 57:1 Men of mercy are the recipients and dispensers of mercy.
- 57:2 The alternation of singular and plural forms (he and they) in verses 1 and 2 is not unusual in Hebrew poetry. It does not necessarily refer to two different groups.
- 57:4 EHV generally preserves the distinction between who and whom but recognizes that it is rapidly disappearing in speech.
- 57:8 Or your bed
- 57:8 The base meaning of the Hebrew word yad is hand, but here it seems to be a euphemism for genitals.
- 57:9 Or Molek
- 57:9 Hebrew sheol
- 57:14 The translation follows the Latin. The Hebrew reads he will say. The two verb forms look alike in Hebrew script.
- 57:17 Or apostate
- 57:19 The line is difficult.