Isaiah 57

¹The righteous man perisheth, and no one layeth it to heart; And pious men are taken away, and none considereth That because of the evil the righteous man is taken away.

²He entereth into peace; He resteth in his bed, Every one that walketh in uprightness.

³But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, Ye brood of the adulterer and the harlot!

⁴Of whom do ye make your sport, And at whom do ye make wide the mouth, And draw out the tongue? Are ye not rebellious children, a treacherous brood?

⁵Burning with lust for idols Under every green tree, Slaying children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶With the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; These, these are thy lot; Here thou pourest out thy drink-offering, And presentest thy meat-offering; Can I see such things, and be at rest?

⁷Upon a high and lofty mountain settest thou thy bed; Thither dost thou go up to offer sacrifice;

⁸Behind the doors and the posts dost thou place thy memorial; Thou departest from me, and uncoverest, and ascendest, and enlargest thy bed. Thou makest an agreement with them; Thou desirest their bed; Thou choosest a place.

⁹Thou goest to the king with oil, And takest much precious perfume; Thou sendest thine ambassadors afar, Yea, down to the under-world.

¹⁰In the length of thy journeys thou hast wearied thyself, But thou sayest not, "I will desist"; Thou yet findest life in thy hand, Therefore thou art not discouraged.

¹¹On account of whom art thou anxious, and of whom art thou afraid, that thou hast proved false, And hast not remembered me, nor laid it to heart? Behold, I have been silent a long time; Therefore thou fearest me not.

¹²But now I announce thy deliverance, And thy works do not profit thee.

¹³When thou criest, let thy host of idols deliver thee! But the wind shall bear them all away; A breath shall take them off; But he that putteth his trust in me Shall possess the land, And shall inherit my holy mountain.

¹⁴Men shall say, Cast up, cast up, prepare the road; Remove every obstruction from the way of my people!

¹⁵For thus saith the high and lofty One That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place; With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

¹⁶For I will not contend forever, Nor will I be always angry; For life would fail before me, And the souls which I created.

¹⁷For the guilt of his covetousness I was angry; I smote him, I hid myself, and was angry; But yet he went on perversely in the way of his heart.

¹⁸I have seen his ways, yet will I heal him; I will guide him, and I will restore comfort To him and to his mourners;

¹⁹I create the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is nigh, Saith Jehovah; I will heal him.

²⁰But the wicked is like the troubled sea, Which cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

²¹There is no peace, saith my God, for the wicked.

Isaiah 57

¹The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

²He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

³But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

⁴Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

⁵Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?

⁶Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?

⁷Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

⁸Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.

⁹And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

¹⁰Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.

¹¹And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?

¹²I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.

¹³When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;

¹⁴And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.

¹⁵For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

¹⁶For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

¹⁷For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.

¹⁸I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

¹⁹I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.

²⁰But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

²¹There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.