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Isaiah 57-59
New International Version
Isaiah 57-59
New International Version
57 The righteous perish,(A)
and no one takes it to heart;(B)
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.(C)
2 Those who walk uprightly(D)
enter into peace;
they find rest(E) as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(F)
you offspring of adulterers(G) and prostitutes!(H)
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(I)
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(J)
and under every spreading tree;(K)
you sacrifice your children(L) in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(M) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(N)
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?(O)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(P)
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(Q)
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,(R)
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(S)
9 You went to Molek[a](T) with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.(U)
You sent your ambassadors[b](V) far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!(W)
10 You wearied(X) yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(Y)
You found renewal of your strength,(Z)
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(AA)
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(AB) me
nor taken this to heart?(AC)
Is it not because I have long been silent(AD)
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(AE)
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(AF) for help,
let your collection of idols save(AG) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow(AH) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(AI) in me
will inherit the land(AJ)
and possess my holy mountain.”(AK)
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(AL)
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(AM)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(AN) One says—
he who lives forever,(AO) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(AP) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(AQ) and lowly in spirit,(AR)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(AS)
16 I will not accuse(AT) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(AU)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(AV) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(AW)
I punished them, and hid(AX) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(AY)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(AZ) them;
I will guide(BA) them and restore comfort(BB) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(BC)
Peace, peace,(BD) to those far and near,”(BE)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(BF) are like the tossing sea,(BG)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(BH) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(BI) says my God, “for the wicked.”(BJ)
True Fasting
58 “Shout it aloud,(BK) do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.(BL)
Declare to my people their rebellion(BM)
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(BN)
2 For day after day they seek(BO) me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken(BP) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near(BQ) them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(BR) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(BS) ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’(BT)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(BU)
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(BV)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(BW) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(BX) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(BY) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(BZ)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(CA)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting(CB) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(CC)
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(CD) free
and break every yoke?(CE)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry(CF)
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(CG)—
when you see the naked, to clothe(CH) them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(CI)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(CJ)
and your healing(CK) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[c](CL) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(CM)
9 Then you will call,(CN) and the Lord will answer;(CO)
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger(CP) and malicious talk,(CQ)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(CR)
then your light(CS) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(CT)
11 The Lord will guide(CU) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(CV) in a sun-scorched land(CW)
and will strengthen(CX) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(CY)
like a spring(CZ) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(DA)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(DB)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(DC)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(DD)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(DE)
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,(DF)
14 then you will find your joy(DG) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(DH) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(DI) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(DJ)
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(DK) of the Lord is not too short(DL) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(DM)
2 But your iniquities have separated(DN)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(DO)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(DP)
your fingers with guilt.(DQ)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(DR)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(DS)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(DT) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(DU)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(DV)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(DW)
and spin a spider’s web.(DX)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(DY)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(DZ) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(EA)
They pursue evil schemes;(EB)
acts of violence mark their ways.(EC)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(ED)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(EE)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(EF)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(EG)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(EH) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(EI) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(EJ)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(EK)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(EL) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(EM) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(EN)
13 rebellion(EO) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(EP) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(EQ)
uttering lies(ER) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(ES) is driven back,
and righteousness(ET) stands at a distance;
truth(EU) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(EV) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(EW)
16 He saw that there was no one,(EX)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(EY)
so his own arm achieved salvation(EZ) for him,
and his own righteousness(FA) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(FB)
and the helmet(FC) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(FD) of vengeance(FE)
and wrapped himself in zeal(FF) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(FG)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(FH) their due.
19 From the west,(FI) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(FJ) they will revere his glory.(FK)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(FL) of the Lord drives along.[d]
20 “The Redeemer(FM) will come to Zion,(FN)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(FO)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(FP) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(FQ) who is on you, will not depart from you,(FR) and my words that I have put in your mouth(FS) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
Isaiah 57-59
King James Version
Isaiah 57-59
King James Version
57 The 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.
2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
4 Against 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.
5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
6 Among 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?
7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind 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.
9 And 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.
10 Thou 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.
11 And 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?
12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
13 When 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;
14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
15 For 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.
16 For 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.
17 For 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.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19 I 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.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
58 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
59 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.
11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.
New International Version (NIV) 
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