< Isaiah 57 >
1 The righteous perisheth, and no man considereth it in heart: and mercifull men are taken away, and no man vnderstandeth that the righteous is taken away from the euill to come.
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 Peace shall come: they shall rest in their beds, euery one that walketh before him.
He enters into peace, they rest on their beds, [Each] is going straightforward.
3 But you witches children, come hither, the seede of the adulterer and of the whore.
“And you, come near here, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even you commit whoredom.
4 On whome haue ye iested? vpon whome haue ye gaped and thrust out your tongue? are not ye rebellious children, and a false seede?
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 Inflamed with idoles vnder euery greene tree? and sacrificing the children in the valleys vnder the tops of the rocks?
Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks.
6 Thy portion is in the smooth stones of the riuer: they, they are thy lot: euen to them hast thou powred a drinke offering: thou hast offered a sacrifice. Should I delite in these?
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 Thou hast made thy bed vpon a very hie mountaine: thou wentest vp thither, euen thither wentest thou to offer sacrifice.
On a mountain, high and exalted, You have set your bed, You have also gone up there to make a sacrifice.
8 Behinde the doores also and postes hast thou set vp thy remembrance: for thou hast discouered thy selfe to another then me, and wentest vp, and diddest enlarge thy bed, and make a couenant betweene thee and them, and louedst their bed in euery place where thou sawest it.
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 Thou wentest to the Kings with oyle, and diddest increase thine oyntments and sende thy messengers farre off, and diddest humble thy selfe vnto hell. (Sheol )
And go joyfully to the king in ointment, And multiply your perfumes, And send your ambassadors far off, And humble yourself to Sheol. (Sheol )
10 Thou weariedst thy selfe in thy manifolde iourneys, yet saydest thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found life by thine hand, therefore thou wast not grieued.
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 And whome diddest thou reuerence or feare, seeing thou hast lyed vnto me, and hast not remembred me, neither set thy minde thereon? is it not because I holde my peace, and that of long time? therefore thou fearest not 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 declare thy righteousnes and thy workes, and they shall not profite thee.
I declare your righteousness, and your works, And they do not profit you.
13 When thou cryest, let them that thou hast gathered together deliuer thee: but the winde shall take them all away: vanitie shall pull them away: but he that trusteth in me, shall inherite the lande, and shall possesse mine holy Mountaine.
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 he shall say, Cast vp, cast vp: prepare the way: take vp 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 For thus sayth he that is hie and excellent, he that inhabiteth the eternitie, whose Name is the Holy one, I dwell in the high and holy place: with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirite to reuiue the spirite of the humble, and to giue life to them that are of a contrite heart.
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 contende for euer, neither will I be alwayes wroth, for the spirite should fayle before me: and I haue made the 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 For his wicked couetousnesse I am angry with him, and haue smitten him: I hid mee and was angry, yet he went away, and turned after the way of his owne 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 haue seene his wayes, and wil heale him: I wil leade him also, and restore comfort vnto him, and to those that lament 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 create the fruite of the lips, to be peace: peace vnto them that are farre off, and to them that are neere, sayth the Lord: for I will heale 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 wicked are like the raging sea, that can not rest, whose waters cast vp myre and dirt.
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, sayth my God, to the wicked.
“There is no peace,” said my God, “for the wicked!”