Isaiah 57
1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and pious men are taken away, without one considering that before the evil the righteous is taken away.
The righteous hath perished, And there is none laying [it] to heart, And men of kindness are gathered, Without any considering that from the face of evil Gathered is the righteous one.
2 He shall come [to his fathers] in peace: they shall repose in their resting-place, every one that walketh in his uprightness.
He entereth into peace, they rest on their beds, [Each] is going straightforward.
3 But ye draw near hither, sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.
And ye, come near hither, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even thou dost commit whoredom.
4 Over whom will you make yourselves merry? concerning whom will you open wide your mouth, stretch out your tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
Against whom do ye sport yourselves? Against whom enlarge ye the mouth? Prolong ye the tongue? Are not ye children of transgression? a false seed?
5 That are inflamed after the idols under every green tree; that slaughter the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks.
6 Of the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured out a drink-offering, hast thou offered a meat-offering. Shall I for these things repent me [of the evil]?
Among the smooth things of a brook [is] thy portion, They — they [are] thy lot, Also to them thou hast poured out an oblation, Thou hast caused a present to ascend, For these things am I comforted?
7 Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou placed thy couch: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
On a mountain, high and exalted, Thou hast set thy couch, Also thither thou hast gone up to make a sacrifice.
8 And behind the doors and the door-posts hast thou placed thy [mark of] remembrance; for [departing] from me, thou hast laid open, and art gone up, —hast enlarged thy couch, and made thee a covenant with some of them; thou hast loved their lying with thee, hast selected a fitting place.
And behind the door, and the post, Thou hast set up thy memorial, For from Me thou hast removed, and goest up, Thou hast enlarged thy couch, And dost covenant for thyself among them, Thou hast loved their couch, the station thou sawest,
9 And thou didst show thyself unto the king without ointment, and thou didst multiply thy perfumes, and thou didst send out thy messengers even into the far-off distance, and didst debase thyself even down to the nether world. (Sheol h7585)
And goest joyfully to the king in ointment, And dost multiply thy perfumes, And sendest thine ambassadors afar off, And humblest thyself unto Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
10 Though thou art wearied by the length of thy way, yet saidst thou not, It is useless: thou hadst found enough for thy hand; therefore didst thou feel no care.
In the greatness of thy way thou hast laboured, Thou hast not said, 'It is desperate.' The life of thy hand thou hast found, Therefore thou hast not been sick.
11 And of whom hadst thou dread or fear, that thou becamest false, and didst not remember me, nor lay it to thy heart? is it not so? I kept silence, and this from earliest times, and therefore thou fearest me not!
And of whom hast thou been afraid, and fearest, That thou liest, and Me hast not remembered? Thou hast not laid [it] to thy heart, Am not I silent, even from of old? And Me thou fearest not?
12 I, I ever tell thee [what deeds would be] thy righteousness; but thy works—these indeed will not profit thee.
I declare thy righteousness, and thy works, And they do not profit thee.
13 When thou criest, let thy masses of idols deliver thee; but all of them will the wind carry away, a breath will take them off; but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.
When thou criest, let thy gatherings deliver thee, And all of them carry away doth wind, Take away doth vanity, And whoso is trusting in Me inheriteth the land, And doth possess My holy mountain.
14 And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, clear out the way, lift up every stumbling block out of the way of my people.
And he hath said, 'Raise up, raise up, prepare a way, Lift a stumbling-block out of the way of My people.'
15 For thus hath said the high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, In the high and holy place do I dwell, yet also with the contrite and humble of 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 holy [is] His name: 'In the high and holy place I dwell, 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 not to eternity will I contend, neither will I be for ever wroth: when the spirit from before me is overwhelmed, and the souls which I have made.
For, not to the age do I strive, nor for ever am I wroth, For the spirit from before Me is feeble, And the souls I have made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and I smote him, hiding my face, and was wroth: while he went on frowardly in the way of his own heart.
For the iniquity of his dishonest gain, I have been wroth, and I smite him, Hiding — and am wroth, And he goeth on turning back in the way of his heart.
18 I [now] see his ways, and I will heal him; and I will guide him, and bestow full comforts on him and on his mourners;
His ways I have seen, and I heal him, yea, I lead him, And recompense comforts to him and to his mourning ones.
19 Creating the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.
Producing the fruit of the lips, 'Peace, peace,' to the far off, and to the near, And I have healed him, said Jehovah.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can never be at rest, but its waters cast up mire and dirt.
And the wicked [are] as the driven out sea, For to rest it is not able, And its waters cast out filth and mire.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
There is no peace, said my God, to the wicked!
