Isa 57 | NASB2020 | STEP | The righteous person perishes , and no one takes it to heart ; And devout people are taken away , while no one understands . For the righteous person is taken away from evil ,

Isaiah 57

Evil Leaders Rebuked

1 The righteous person perishes, and no one ^atakes it to heart;
And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous person 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 ^{▼▼As in ancient versions; MT she prostitutes herself}a ^hprostitute!
4 “Of whom do you make fun?
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 ^joaks,
^kUnder every luxuriant tree,
Who ^lslaughter the children in the ^{▼▼Or wadis}ravines,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 “Among the ^{▼▼I.e., symbols of fertility gods
,} ^osmooth stones of the ^{▼▼Or wadi}ravine
Is your portion, ^{▼▼Lit they, they}they are your lot;
Even to them you have ^rpoured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Should I ^{▼▼Or repent
,} ^trelent of these things?
7 “On a ^uhigh and lofty mountain
You have ^vmade 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 ^wuncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked at their ^{▼▼Lit hand}manhood.
9 “You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have ^ysent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to ^{▼▼I.e., the netherworld}Sheol.
10 “You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘ ^aaIt is hopeless!’
You found ^{▼▼Lit the life of your hand}renewed strength,
Therefore you did not ^{▼▼Or become sick}faint.

11 “Of ^adwhom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did ^aenot remember Me
^{▼▼Lit You did not set it upon your heart}Nor ^aggive Me a thought?
Was I not silent, even for a long time,
So you do not fear Me?
12 “I will ^ahdeclare your righteousness and your ^aideeds,
And they will not benefit you.
13 “When you cry out, ^ajlet your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who ^aktakes refuge in Me will ^alinherit the land
And ^ampossess My holy mountain.”

14 And it will be said,
“ ^anBuild up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
15 For this is what the ^aohigh and exalted One
Who ^{▼▼Or dwells in eternity
,} ^aqlives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I ^ardwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the ^ascontrite and lowly of spirit
In order to ^atrevive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 “For I will ^aunot contend forever,
^avNor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the ^awbreath of those whom I have made.
17 “Because of the wrongful act of his ^axunjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on ^ayturning away, in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but I will ^azheal him;
I will ^balead him and ^bbrestore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the ^{▼▼Lit fruit of the lips
,} ^bdpraise of the lips.
^bePeace, peace to him who is ^bffar away and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the ^bgwicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “ ^bhThere is no peace,” says ^bimy God, “for the wicked.”