Isaiah 57
1 The just man perishes, and there is no one who acknowledges it in his heart; and men of mercy are taken away, for there is no one who understands. For the just man has been taken away before the face of malice.
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 Let peace arrive. Let he who has walked in his righteousness find rest on his bed.
He enters into peace, they rest on their beds, [Each] is going straightforward.
3 But come here, you sons of the prophetess, you offspring of an adulterous man and a fornicating woman.
“And you, come near here, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even you commit whoredom.
4 Whom are you mocking? Against whom have you opened your mouth wide and wagged your tongue? Are you not sons of wickedness, a lying offspring,
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 are being consoled by idols under every leafy tree, immolating little children at the torrents, under the high rocks?
Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks.
6 Your portion is in the currents of the torrent; this is your lot! And you yourselves have poured out libations to them; you have offered sacrifice. Should I not be angry over 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 Upon a high and lofty mountain, you have placed your bed, and you have ascended to that place to immolate victims.
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 door, and beyond the post, you have set up your memorial. For you uncovered yourself next to me, and you received an adulterer. You widened your bed, and you formed a pact with them. You loved their bed with an open hand.
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 you have adorned yourself for the king with ointments, and you have increased your cosmetics. You have sent your representatives to distant places, and you have debased yourself all the way 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 You have been wearied by the multitude of your own ways. Yet you did not say, “I will cease.” You have found life by your own hand; because of this, you have not prayed.
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 For whose sake have you been anxiously afraid, so that you would lie and not be mindful of me, nor consider me in your heart? For I am silent, and I am like someone who does not see, and so you have forgotten 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 I will announce your justice, and your works will not benefit you.
I declare your righteousness, and your works, And they do not profit you.
13 When you cry out, let your followers free you. But the wind will carry them all away; a breeze will take them up. But he who has faith in me will inherit the earth and will possess 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 I will say: “Make way! Grant passage! Move to the side of the path! Take the obstacles 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 For this is said by the Most High, the Sublime One, who dwells in eternity. And his name is Holy, for he dwells in the exalted and holy place, and he acts with a restrained and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
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 For I will not contend unceasingly, and I will not be angry to the end. For I will exhale my breath, and the Spirit will go forth from my face.
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 Because of the iniquity of his avarice, I was angry, and I struck him down. I concealed my face from you, and I was angry. And he went astray by wandering in his heart.
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 saw his ways, and I healed him, and I led him back again, and I restored consolations to him and to those who mourn for him.
I have seen his ways, and I heal him, indeed, I lead him, And repay comforts to him and to his mourning ones.
19 I created the fruit of the lips: peace, peace to him who is far away, and peace to him who is near, said the Lord, and I healed him.
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 impious are like the raging sea, which is not able to be quieted, and its waves stir up dirt and mud.
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 peace for the impious, says the Lord God.
“There is no peace,” said my God, “for the wicked!”
