I LIVE WITH THE ONE WHO IS CONTRITE
Key verse: 57:15b
NIV
God’s Accusation Against the Wicked
9 Come, all you beasts of the field,(A)
come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10 Israel’s watchmen(B) are blind,
they all lack knowledge;(C)
they are all mute dogs,
they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
they love to sleep.(D)
11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
they never have enough.
They are shepherds(E) who lack understanding;(F)
they all turn to their own way,(G)
they seek their own gain.(H)
12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!(I)
Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
or even far better.”(J)
57 The righteous perish,(K)
and no one takes it to heart;(L)
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.(M)
2 Those who walk uprightly(N)
enter into peace;
they find rest(O) as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(P)
you offspring of adulterers(Q) and prostitutes!(R)
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(S)
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(T)
and under every spreading tree;(U)
you sacrifice your children(V) in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(W) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(X)
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?(Y)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(Z)
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(AA)
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,(AB)
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(AC)
9 You went to Molek[a](AD) with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.(AE)
You sent your ambassadors[b](AF) far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!(AG)
10 You wearied(AH) yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(AI)
You found renewal of your strength,(AJ)
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(AK)
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(AL) me
nor taken this to heart?(AM)
Is it not because I have long been silent(AN)
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(AO)
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(AP) for help,
let your collection of idols save(AQ) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow(AR) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(AS) in me
will inherit the land(AT)
and possess my holy mountain.”(AU)
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(AV)
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(AW)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(AX) One says—
he who lives forever,(AY) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(AZ) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(BA) and lowly in spirit,(BB)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(BC)
16 I will not accuse(BD) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(BE)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(BF) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(BG)
I punished them, and hid(BH) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(BI)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(BJ) them;
I will guide(BK) them and restore comfort(BL) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(BM)
Peace, peace,(BN) to those far and near,”(BO)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(BP) are like the tossing sea,(BQ)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(BR) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(BS) says my God, “for the wicked.”(BT)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
Cross references
- Isaiah 56:9 : Isa 18:6; Jer 12:9; Eze 34:5, 8; 39:17-20
- Isaiah 56:10 : S Isa 52:8; 62:6; Jer 6:17; 31:6; Eze 3:17; 33:7
- Isaiah 56:10 : Jer 2:8; 10:21; 14:13-14
- Isaiah 56:10 : Na 3:18
- Isaiah 56:11 : Jer 23:1; Eze 34:2
- Isaiah 56:11 : Isa 1:3
- Isaiah 56:11 : S Isa 53:6; Hos 4:7-8
- Isaiah 56:11 : Isa 57:17; Jer 6:13; 8:10; 22:17; Eze 13:19; Mic 3:11
- Isaiah 56:12 : S Lev 10:9; S Pr 23:20; S Isa 22:13
- Isaiah 56:12 : Ps 10:6; Lk 12:18-19
- Isaiah 57:1 : S Ps 12:1; Eze 21:3
- Isaiah 57:1 : S Isa 42:25
- Isaiah 57:1 : S 2Ki 22:20
- Isaiah 57:2 : Isa 26:7
- Isaiah 57:2 : Da 12:13
- Isaiah 57:3 : S Ex 22:18; Mal 3:5
- Isaiah 57:3 : ver 7-8; Mt 16:4; Jas 4:4
- Isaiah 57:3 : Isa 1:21; Jer 2:20
- Isaiah 57:4 : S Isa 1:2
- Isaiah 57:5 : S Isa 1:29
- Isaiah 57:5 : S Dt 12:2; 2Ki 16:4
- Isaiah 57:5 : S Lev 18:21; S Dt 18:10; Ps 106:37-38; Eze 16:20
- Isaiah 57:6 : S 2Ki 17:10; Jer 3:9; Hab 2:19
- Isaiah 57:6 : Jer 7:18; 19:13; 44:18
- Isaiah 57:6 : Jer 5:9, 29; 9:9
- Isaiah 57:7 : Jer 3:6; Eze 6:3; 16:16; 20:29
- Isaiah 57:7 : Isa 65:7; Jer 13:27; Eze 6:13; 20:27-28
- Isaiah 57:8 : Eze 16:26; 23:7
- Isaiah 57:8 : Eze 16:15, 36; 23:18
- Isaiah 57:9 : S Lev 18:21; S 1Ki 11:5
- Isaiah 57:9 : S SS 4:10
- Isaiah 57:9 : Eze 23:16, 40
- Isaiah 57:9 : S Isa 8:19
- Isaiah 57:10 : S Isa 47:13
- Isaiah 57:10 : Jer 2:25; 18:12; Mal 3:14
- Isaiah 57:10 : S 1Sa 2:4
- Isaiah 57:11 : S 2Ki 1:15; Pr 29:25; Isa 7:2
- Isaiah 57:11 : S Isa 17:10; Jer 2:32; 3:21; 13:25; 18:15; Eze 22:12
- Isaiah 57:11 : S Isa 42:23
- Isaiah 57:11 : S Est 4:14; S Ps 50:21; S 83:1
- Isaiah 57:12 : Isa 29:15; 58:1; 59:6, 12; 65:7; 66:18; Eze 16:2; Mic 3:2-4, 8
- Isaiah 57:13 : Jer 22:20; 30:15
- Isaiah 57:13 : S Jdg 10:14
- Isaiah 57:13 : Isa 40:7, 24
- Isaiah 57:13 : S Ps 118:8
- Isaiah 57:13 : S Ps 37:9
- Isaiah 57:13 : Isa 2:2-3; 56:7; 65:9-11
- Isaiah 57:14 : S Isa 11:16
- Isaiah 57:14 : Isa 62:10; Jer 18:15
- Isaiah 57:15 : S Isa 52:13
- Isaiah 57:15 : S Dt 33:27; S Ps 90:2
- Isaiah 57:15 : S Job 16:19
- Isaiah 57:15 : Ps 147:3
- Isaiah 57:15 : Ps 34:18; 51:17; Isa 66:2; Mic 6:8; Mt 5:3
- Isaiah 57:15 : S 2Ki 22:19; S Job 5:18; S Mt 23:12
- Isaiah 57:16 : S Ps 50:21; Isa 3:13-14
- Isaiah 57:16 : S Ps 103:9; S Isa 54:9
- Isaiah 57:16 : S Ge 2:7; Zec 12:1
- Isaiah 57:17 : S Isa 56:11; Jer 8:10
- Isaiah 57:17 : S Isa 1:15
- Isaiah 57:17 : Isa 1:4; S 30:15; S 53:6; 66:3
- Isaiah 57:18 : S Dt 32:39; S 2Ch 7:14; S Isa 30:26
- Isaiah 57:18 : S Ps 48:14; S Isa 42:16; S 48:17
- Isaiah 57:18 : Isa 49:13; 61:1-3
- Isaiah 57:19 : Isa 6:7; 51:16; 59:21; Heb 13:15
- Isaiah 57:19 : S Isa 2:4; 26:3, 12; 32:17; S Lk 2:14
- Isaiah 57:19 : Ac 2:39
- Isaiah 57:20 : Job 18:5-21
- Isaiah 57:20 : S Ge 49:4; Eph 4:14; Jude 1:13
- Isaiah 57:20 : Ps 69:14
- Isaiah 57:21 : S Isa 26:3; 59:8; Eze 13:16
- Isaiah 57:21 : S Isa 48:22
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
Israel's Irresponsible Leaders
9 (A)All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
all you beasts in the forest.
10 (B)His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent (C)dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
11 (D)The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But (E)they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
(F)each to his own gain, one and all.
12 (G)“Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
(H)and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.”
Israel's Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
(I)devout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
2 (J)he enters into peace;
they rest (K)in their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
3 But you, draw near,
sons of the sorceress,
(L)offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom (M)do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of (N)transgression,
(O)the offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among (P)the oaks,[a]
under every green tree,
(Q)who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of (R)the valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things?
7 (S)On a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, (T)you have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
(U)you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness.[b]
9 You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
(V)you sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
(W)but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint.[c]
11 (X)Whom did you dread and fear,
(Y)so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
(Z)Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
13 (AA)When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
(AB)But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit (AC)my holy mountain.
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it shall be said,
(AD)“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
15 For thus says (AE)the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is (AF)Holy:
(AG)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also (AH)with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
(AI)to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 (AJ)For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his (AK)unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, (AL)but I will heal him;
I will lead him (AM)and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19 (AN)creating (AO)the fruit of the lips.
(AP)Peace, peace, (AQ)to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
(AR)“and I will heal him.
20 (AS)But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21 (AT)There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:5 Or among the terebinths
- Isaiah 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand
- Isaiah 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick
Cross references
- Isaiah 56:9 : Jer. 12:9; Ezek. 34:8
- Isaiah 56:10 : ch. 62:6; Jer. 6:17
- Isaiah 56:10 : [Phil. 3:2]
- Isaiah 56:11 : Ezek. 34:2, 3
- Isaiah 56:11 : [Jer. 23:1]
- Isaiah 56:11 : Jer. 6:13
- Isaiah 56:12 : [ch. 28:7]
- Isaiah 56:12 : [ch. 22:13; Prov. 23:35; Luke 12:19; 1 Cor. 15:32]
- Isaiah 57:1 : Ps. 12:1
- Isaiah 57:2 : [Luke 2:29]
- Isaiah 57:2 : 2 Chr. 16:14; Ezek. 32:25
- Isaiah 57:3 : [John 8:41, 42]
- Isaiah 57:4 : [Ps. 35:21]
- Isaiah 57:4 : ch. 46:8, 9
- Isaiah 57:4 : [ch. 1:4]
- Isaiah 57:5 : ch. 1:29; 2 Kgs. 16:4
- Isaiah 57:5 : Ezek. 16:20, 21
- Isaiah 57:6 : [2 Kgs. 23:10]
- Isaiah 57:7 : 1 Kgs. 14:23; Ezek. 16:16, 24
- Isaiah 57:8 : Ezek. 16:25; [Hos. 1:2]
- Isaiah 57:8 : [Ezek. 23:17]
- Isaiah 57:9 : Ezek. 16:26, 28, 29
- Isaiah 57:10 : Jer. 2:25; 18:12
- Isaiah 57:11 : [ch. 51:12, 13]
- Isaiah 57:11 : Ps. 78:10, 36
- Isaiah 57:11 : Ps. 50:21
- Isaiah 57:13 : Jer. 11:12
- Isaiah 57:13 : Ps. 37:9
- Isaiah 57:13 : ch. 11:9; 56:7; 65:11, 25
- Isaiah 57:14 : ch. 62:10; [ch. 40:3]
- Isaiah 57:15 : [Mic. 6:6]
- Isaiah 57:15 : Luke 1:49
- Isaiah 57:15 : Ps. 113:6
- Isaiah 57:15 : Ps. 34:18; 138:6
- Isaiah 57:15 : [ch. 42:3]
- Isaiah 57:16 : Gen. 6:3; Ps. 103:9
- Isaiah 57:17 : ch. 56:11; Jer. 6:13
- Isaiah 57:18 : Jer. 3:22
- Isaiah 57:18 : ch. 61:3
- Isaiah 57:19 : ch. 50:4
- Isaiah 57:19 : Heb. 13:15
- Isaiah 57:19 : [Eph. 2:17]
- Isaiah 57:19 : Acts 2:39
- Isaiah 57:19 : [See ver. 18 above]; Jer. 3:22
- Isaiah 57:20 : Jude 13
- Isaiah 57:21 : ch. 48:22
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
Prayer: Father, I take refuge in you with a humble and contrite heart. I need your healing and peace.
One Word: Take refuge in the Lord