Isaiah 57

¹The righteous man perishes,

and no one lays it to heart;

devout men are taken away,

while no one understands.

For the righteous man is taken away from calamity,

²he enters into peace;

they rest in their beds

who walk in their uprightness.

³But you, draw near hither,

sons of the sorceress,

offspring of the adulterer and the harlot.

⁴Of whom are you making sport?

Against whom do you open your mouth wide

and put out your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

the offspring of deceit,

⁵you who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every green tree;

who slay your children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;

they, they, are your lot;

to them you have poured out a drink offering,

you have brought a cereal offering.

Shall I be appeased for these things?

⁷Upon a high and lofty mountain

you have set your bed,

and thither you went up to offer sacrifice.

⁸Behind the door and the doorpost

you have set up your symbol;

for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,

you have gone up to it,

you have made it wide;

and you have made a bargain for yourself with them,

you have loved their bed,

you have looked on nakedness.

⁹You journeyed to Molech with oil

and multiplied your perfumes;

you sent your envoys far off,

and sent down even to Sheol.

¹⁰You were wearied with the length of your way,

but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;

you found new life for your strength,

and so you were not faint.

¹¹Whom did you dread and fear,

so that you lied,

and did not remember me,

did not give me a thought?

Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,

and so you do not fear me?

¹²I will tell of your righteousness and your doings,

but they will not help you.

¹³When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!

The wind will carry them off,

a breath will take them away.

But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land,

and shall inherit my holy mountains.

¹⁴And it shall be said,

“Build up, build up, prepare the way,

remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”

¹⁵For thus says the high and lofty One

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

¹⁶For I will not contend for ever,

nor will I always be angry;

for from me proceeds the spirit,

and I have made the breath of life.

¹⁷Because of the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry,

I smote him, I hid my face and was angry;

but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

¹⁸I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and requite him with comfort,

creating for his mourners the fruit of the lips.

¹⁹Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the Lord;

and I will heal him.

²⁰But the wicked are like the tossing sea;

for it cannot rest,

and its waters toss up mire and dirt.

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