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Isaiah 57
Common English Bible
Isaiah 57
Common English Bible
57 The righteous person perishes,
and no one takes it to heart.
Loyal people are gathered together,
and no one understands that because of evil
the righteous one passed away.
2 They will find peace;
those who walk in straight paths
will find rest on their burial beds.
Accusations against idolators
3 Come here, you children of sorcery,
offspring of adultery and prostitution!
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Aren’t you children of rebellion, offspring of lies,
5 who console yourselves with idols under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the valleys, under the rocky cliffs?
6 You belong with the smooth talkers[a] in the valley;
they, they are your lot.
For them you poured out a drink offering,
and presented a grain offering.
Should I condone these things?
7 On a very high mountain you made your bed.
You went up there to offer a sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you placed your symbols.
You abandoned me and lay down,
making room in your bed
and making deals for yourself with them.[b]
You loved their bed;
you saw their nakedness.
9 You went down to Molech[c] with oil,
and you slathered on your ointments;
you sent your messengers far away,
sent them down to the underworld.[d]
10 Worn out by all your efforts,
yet you wouldn’t say, “This is useless.”
You found new strength;
therefore, you weren’t tired.
11 Whom did you dread and fear so that you lied,
didn’t remember me or give me a thought?
Isn’t it because I was silent and closed my eyes
that you stopped fearing me?
12 I will bring evidence about your righteousness and your actions;
they won’t help you.
13 When you cry out,
let those things you’ve gathered save you!
The wind will lift them all;
one breath will take them away.
but those taking refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.
Peace for the remorseful
14 It will be said: “Survey, survey; build a road!
Remove barriers from my people’s road!”
15 The one who is high and lifted up,
who lives forever, whose name is holy, says:
I live on high, in holiness,
and also with the crushed[e] and the lowly,
reviving the spirit of the lowly,
reviving the heart of those who have been crushed.[f]
16 I won’t always accuse,
nor will I be enraged forever.
It is my own doing that their spirit is exhausted—
I gave them breath!
17 I was enraged about their illegal profits;
I struck them; in rage I withdrew from them.
Yet they went on wandering wherever they wanted.
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them.
I will guide them,
and reward them with comfort.
And for those who mourn,
19 I will create reason for praise:[g]
utter prosperity to those far and near,
and I will heal them, says the Lord.
20 But the wicked are like the churning sea that can’t keep still.
They churn up from their waters muck and mud.
21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:6 Or smooth things
- Isaiah 57:8 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 57:9 Or the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 57:15 Or contrite
- Isaiah 57:15 Or contrite
- Isaiah 57:19 Heb uncertain
Isaiah 57
New International Version
Isaiah 57
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)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.