Isaiah 57
1 The righteous one, hath perished, And not a man, hath taken it to heart—Yea the men of lovingkindness, have been withdrawn No one considering, That from the presence of calamity, hath the righteous been withdrawn.
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 entereth into peace, Let them rest upon their couches, —Each one who went on a straight path.
His burial shall be in peace: he has been removed out of the way.
3 But, ye, …draw near hither, Ye sons of divination, —Ye seed of an adulterer when your mother committed unchastity!
But draw ye near hither, ye lawless children, the seed of adulterers and the harlot.
4 Against whom would ye disport yourselves? Against whom would ye widen the mouth and lengthen the tongue, —Are not, ye, Children of transgression, A Seed of falsehood.
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?
5 Who inflame yourselves With the terebinths, Under every green tree—Slaying the children, In the torrent-valleys, Under the clefts of the crags:
who call upon idols under the leafy trees, slaying your children in the valleys among the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the torrent—valley, is thy portion. They, they, are thy lot; Even to them, hast thou Poured out a drink-offering. Caused to ascend a gift. Over these things, can I cease to grieve?
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?
7 On a mountain high and uplifted, hast thou set thy couch, —Even thither, hast thou gone up, to offer sacrifice;
On a lofty and high mountain, there is thy bed, and thither thou carriedst up thy meat-offerings:
8 And behind the door and the post, hast thou set thy symbol, For, with another than me, hast thou uncovered thyself and gone up—Hast widened thy couch, And hast solemnised for thyself a covenant from them, Thou hast loved their couch a sign, hast thou seen;
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;
9 And hast gone to the king with oil, And hast multiplied thy perfumes, —And hast sent thy messengers afar, And…lowered thyself as far as hades! (Sheol h7585)
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)
10 With the length of thy journey, thou wast wearied, Thou didst not say, Hopeless! The reviving of thy power, thou didst find, For this cause, hast thou not become sick.
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.
11 Whom then hadst thou been anxious about and feared that thou shouldest speak falsely, When me, thou rememberedst not, caredst not for me? Did not, I, keep silence even from age-past times, Although me, thou wouldest not fear?
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.
12 I, will expose thy righteousness, —And thy works—but they will not profit thee!
And I will declare thy righteousness, and thy sins, which shall not profit thee.
13 When thou makest outcry, let thy gathered throngs deliver thee! But all of them, shall A wind, catch up—A breath, take away! Whereas he that seeketh refuge in me, Shall inherit the land, And possess my holy mountain.
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.
14 And one said—Cast ye up—cast ye up, prepare ye a way, —Lift the 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, saith he that is high and lifted up—Inhabiting futurity, And, holy, is his name: A high and holy place, will I inhabit, Also with the crushed and lowly in spirit, To revive the spirit of the lowly, and To revive the heart of them who are crushed; —
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:
16 For not age-abidingly, will I contend, Nor perpetually, will I be wroth, —For, spirit, before me, would faint, Even the breathing souls, which, I, had 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 Because of his iniquitous gain, was I wroth—and smote him Hiding myself that I might be wroth, —But he went on turning aside in the way of his own heart.
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.
18 His ways, have I beheld, That I might heal him, —And guide him, And restore consolations to him and to his mourners:
I have seen his ways, and healed him, and comforted him, and given him true comfort;
19 Creating the fruit of the lips—Prosperity! Prosperity! For him that is far off and for him that is near saith Yahweh, So should I heal him.
peace upon peace to them that are far off, and to them that are nigh: and the Lord has said, I will heal them.
20 But, the lawless, are like the sea when tossed, —For, rest, it cannot! But its waters toss out mire and dirt.
But the unrighteous shall be tossed as troubled waves, and shall not be able to rest.
21 No well-being, saith my God, to the lawless!
There is no joy to the ungodly, said God.
