Isa 57:1 | NETfull | STEP | The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil.

Isaiah 57:1

1 The godly ^{▼▼ Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”} perish,
but no one cares. ^{▼▼ Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”}
Honest people disappear, ^{▼▼ Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”}
when no one ^{▼▼ The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (b^e’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11; 14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.} minds ^{▼▼ Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).}
that the godly ^{▼▼ Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”} disappear ^{▼▼ Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”} because of ^{▼▼ The term מִפְּנֵי (mipp^ene, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-y^erushalam mipp^eney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).} evil. ^{▼▼ The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.}