Isaiah 57
1 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 His burial
shall be in peace: he has been removed out of the way.
3 But draw ye near hither, ye lawless
children, the seed of adulterers and the harlot.
4 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 call upon idols under the leafy
trees, slaying
aGr. their.your children in the valleys among the rocks?
6 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 lofty and high mountain, there
is thy bed, and thither thou carriedst up thy meat-offerings:
8 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 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. 10 Thou hast wearied
thyself with thy many ways; yet thou saidst not, I will cease to strengthen
myself: for thou hast done these things; therefore thou hast not supplicated
me.
11 Through dread of whom hast thou
feared, and lied against me, and hast not remembered, nor
bGr. taken me into thy mind, not into thine heart.considered me, nor regarded me, yea, though when I see thee I pass thee by,
yet thou hast not feared me.
12 And I will declare thy
righteousness, and thy sins, which shall not profit thee.
13 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 they shall say,
cLit. purge.Clear the ways before him, and take up the stumbling-blocks out of the way of
my people.
15 Thus saith the Most High, who
dwells on high for ever,
dOr, Most Holy.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 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 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 I have seen his ways, and healed
him, and comforted him, and given him true comfort;
19 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 unrighteous shall be
tossed as troubled waves, and shall not be able to rest.
21 There is no
eSee chap 48. 22.joy to the ungodly, said God.