Isaiah 57

1 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

4 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?

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

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

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

6 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?

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

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

On a lofty and high mountain, there is your bed, and there you carried up your meat-offerings:

8 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,

and behind the posts of your door you did place your memorials. Did you think that if you should depart from me, you would gain? you have loved those that lay with you;

9 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)

and you have multiplied your whoredom with them, and you have increased the number of them that are far from you, and have sent ambassadors beyond your borders, and have been debased even to hell. (Sheol h7585)

10 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.

You has wearied yourself with your many ways; yet you said not, I will cease to strengthen myself: for you has done these things; therefore you has not supplicated me.

11 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?

Through dread of whom have you feared, and lied against me, and has not remembered, nor considered me, nor regarded me, yes, though when I see you I pass you by, yet you has not feared me.

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

And I will declare your righteousness, and your sins, which shall not profit you.

13 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.”

When you cry out, let them deliver you in your 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.

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

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

15 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,

Thus says 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:

16 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.

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.

17 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There is no joy to the ungodly, said God.