Esias 57

1 See how the just man has perished, and no one lays [it] to heart: and righteous men are taken away, and no one considers: for the righteous has been removed out of the way of injustice.

The righteous has perished, And there is none laying [it] to heart, And men of kindness are gathered, Without any considering that from the face of evil The righteous one is gathered.

2 His burial shall be in peace: he has been removed out of the way.

He enters into peace, they rest on their beds, [Each] is going straightforward.

3 But draw ye near hither, ye lawless children, the seed of adulterers and the harlot.

“And you, come near here, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even you commit whoredom.

4 Wherein have ye been rioting? and against whom have ye opened your mouth, and against whom have ye loosed your tongue? are ye not children of perdition? a lawless seed?

Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom do you enlarge the mouth [And] prolong the tongue? Are you not children of transgression? A false seed?

5 who call upon idols under the leafy trees, slaying your children in the valleys among the rocks?

Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks.

6 That is thy portion, this is thy lot: and to them hast thou poured forth drink-offerings, and to these hast thou offered meat-offerings. Shall I not therefore be angry for these things?

Your portion [is] among the smooth things of a brook, They [are] your lot, You have also poured out an oblation to them, You have caused a present to ascend, Am I comforted in these things?

7 On a lofty and high mountain, there is thy bed, and thither thou carriedst up thy meat-offerings:

On a mountain, high and exalted, You have set your bed, You have also gone up there to make a sacrifice.

8 and behind the posts of thy door thou didst place thy memorials. Didst thou think that if thou shouldest depart from me, thou wouldest gain? thou hast loved those that lay with thee;

And behind the door, and the post, You have set up your memorial, For you have removed from Me, and go up, You have enlarged your bed, And cut [a covenant] with them, You have loved their bed, the station you saw,

9 and thou hast multiplied thy whoredom with them, and thou hast increased the number of them that are far from thee, and hast sent ambassadors beyond thy borders, and hast been debased even to hell. (Sheol h7585)

And go joyfully to the king in ointment, And multiply your perfumes, And send your ambassadors far off, And humble yourself to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)

10 Thou has wearied thyself with thy many ways; yet thou saidst not, I will cease to strengthen myself: for thou has done these things; therefore thou has not supplicated me.

You have labored in the greatness of your way, You have not said, It is desperate. You have found the life of your hand, Therefore you have not been sick.

11 Through dread of whom hast thou feared, and lied against me, and has not remembered, nor considered me, nor regarded me, yea, though when I see thee I pass thee by, yet thou has not feared me.

And of whom have you been afraid, and fear, That you lie, and have not remembered Me? You have not laid [it] to your heart, Am I not silent, even from of old? And you do not fear Me?

12 And I will declare thy righteousness, and thy sins, which shall not profit thee.

I declare your righteousness, and your works, And they do not profit you.

13 When thou criest out, let them deliver thee in thine affliction: for all these the wind shall take, and the tempest shall carry [them] away: but they that cleave to me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

When you cry, let your gatherings deliver you, And wind carries all of them away, Vanity takes away, And whoever is trusting in Me inherits the land, And possesses My holy mountain.”

14 And they shall say, Clear the ways before him, and take up the stumbling-blocks out of the way of my people.

And He has said, “Raise up, raise up, prepare a way, Lift a stumbling-block out of the way of My people.”

15 Thus saith the Most High, who dwells on high for ever, Holy in the holies, is his name, the Most High resting in the holies, and giving patience to the faint-hearted, and giving life to the broken-hearted:

For thus said the high and exalted One, Inhabiting eternity, and His Name [is] holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, And with the bruised and humble of spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of bruised ones,

16 I will not take vengeance on you for ever, neither will I be always angry with you: for my Spirit shall go forth from me, and I have created all breath.

For I do not strive for all time, nor am I angry forever, For the spirit is feeble before Me, And the souls I have made.

17 On account of sin for a little while I grieved him, and smote him, and turned away my face from him; and he was grieved, and he went on sorrowful in his ways.

For the iniquity of his dishonest gain, I have been angry, and I strike him, Hiding—and am angry, And he goes on turning back in the way of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, and healed him, and comforted him, and given him true comfort;

I have seen his ways, and I heal him, indeed, I lead him, And repay comforts to him and to his mourning ones.

19 peace upon peace to them that are far off, and to them that are nigh: and the Lord has said, I will heal them.

Producing the fruit of the lips, Peace, peace, to the far off, and to the near, And I have healed him,” said YHWH.

20 But the unrighteous shall be tossed as troubled waves, and shall not be able to rest.

And the wicked [are] as the driven out sea, For it is not able to rest, And its waters cast out filth and mire.

21 There is no joy to the ungodly, said God.

“There is no peace,” said my God, “for the wicked!”