Isaiah 57 KJV
Condemnation of the Wicked
Isaiah Chapter 57: Condemnation of the Wicked
The chapter opens by framing the righteous person's death as divine protection from impending judgment, echoing the tradition of Josiah's early death sparing him from witnessing Judah's fall.
1he righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
10 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
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Did You Know?
The chapter opens by framing the righteous person's death as divine protection from impending judgment, echoing the tradition of Josiah's early death sparing him from witnessing Judah's fall.
Verse 6's mention of smooth stones from the stream alludes to ancient Near Eastern libation rituals where liquids were poured over phallic or memorial stones as part of fertility cults.
God's self-description as both 'high and lofty' and choosing to dwell with the contrite in verse 15 deliberately inverts the temple theology of Isaiah 6, emphasizing immanence over distant transcendence.
The accusation of child sacrifice in the valleys directly parallels practices condemned in Leviticus 18 and 20, but here frames them as Israel's active betrayal of the covenant rather than Canaanite influence alone.
The final image of the wicked as a restless sea whose waters 'cast up mire and dirt' draws on ancient combat myths of chaos (echoing motifs in Job and Psalms) to depict moral disorder as ontological turmoil.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain no man layeth it to heart โ as a public calamity. merciful men โ rather, godly men; the subjects of mercy. none considering โ namely, what was the design of Providence in removingโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Isaiah 57 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: The peaceful death of the righteous few: the ungodliness of the many: a believing remnant shall survive the general judgments of the nation, and be restored by him who creates peace.
- 1
- no man layeth it to heart โ as a public calamity. merciful men โ rather, godly men; the subjects of mercy. none considering โ namely, what was the design of Providence in removing the godly. from the evil โ Hebrew, from the face of the evil, that is, both from the moral evil on every side (Isa 56:10-12), and from the evils about to come in punishment of the national sins, foreign invasions, &c. (Isa 56:9; 57:13). So Ahijah's death is represented as a blessing conferred on him by God for his piety (1Ki 14:10-13; see also 2Ki 22:20).
- 2
- Or, "he entereth into peace"; in contrast to the persecutions which he suffered in this world (Job 3:13, 17). The Margin not so well translates, "he shall go in peace" (Ps 37:37; Lu 2:29). rest โ the calm rest of their bodies in their graves (called "beds," 2Ch 16:14; compare Isa 14:18; because they "sleep" in them, with the certainty of awakening at the resurrection, 1Th 4:14) is the emblem of the eternal "rest" (Heb 4:9; Re 14:13). each one walking in... uprightness โ This clause defines the character of those who at death "rest in their beds," namely, all who walk uprightly.
Read all 21 notes on Isaiah 57 โ