Isa 57 | NASB1995 | STEP | The righteous man perishes , and no man takes it to heart ; And devout men are taken away , while no one understands . For the righteous man is taken away from evil ,

Isaiah 57

Evil Leaders Rebuked

1 The righteous man perishes, and no man ^atakes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from ^bevil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their ^{▼▼ I.e. graves}beds,
Each one who ^dwalked in his upright way.
3 “But come here, you sons of a ^esorceress,
^fOffspring of an adulterer and ^{▼▼ So ancient versions; Heb she prostitutes herself}a ^hprostitute.
4 “Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of ⁱrebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the ^{▼▼ Or terebinths
,} ^koaks,
^lUnder every luxuriant tree,
Who ^mslaughter the children in the ^{▼▼ Or wadis}ravines,
Under the clefts of the crags?
6 “Among the ^{▼▼ I.e. symbols of fertility gods
,} ^psmooth stones of the ^{▼▼ Or wadi}ravine
Is your portion, ^{▼▼ Lit they, they}they are your lot;
Even to them you have ^spoured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I ^{▼▼ Or repent
,} ^urelent concerning these things?
7 “Upon a ^vhigh and lofty mountain
You have ^wmade your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 “Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^xuncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their ^{▼▼ Or lying down}bed,
You have looked on their ^{▼▼ Lit hand}manhood.
9 “You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have ^aasent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to ^{▼▼ I.e. the nether world}Sheol.
10 “You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘ ^acIt is hopeless.’
You found ^{▼▼ Lit the life of your hand}renewed strength,
Therefore you did not ^{▼▼ Or become sick}faint.

11 “Of ^afwhom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did ^agnot remember Me
^{▼▼ Lit You did not set it upon your heart}Nor ^aigive Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?
12 “I will ^ajdeclare your righteousness and your ^akdeeds,
But they will not profit you.
13 “When you cry out, ^allet your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who ^amtakes refuge in Me will ^aninherit the land
And will ^aopossess My holy mountain.”

14 And it will be said,
^ap“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the ^aqhigh and exalted One
Who ^{▼▼ Or dwells in eternity
,} ^aslives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I ^atdwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the ^aucontrite and lowly of spirit
In order to ^avrevive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 “For I will ^awnot contend forever,
^axNor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the ^aybreath of those whom I have made.
17 “Because of the iniquity of his ^azunjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on ^baturning away, in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but I will ^bbheal him;
I will ^bclead him and ^bdrestore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the ^{▼▼ Lit fruit of the lips
,} ^bfpraise of the lips.
^bgPeace, peace to him who is ^bhfar and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the ^biwicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 ^bj“There is no peace,” says ^bkmy God, “for the wicked.”