Isaiah 57

The righteous are taken away

Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.a ²For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.b

God condemns their idols

³“But you—come here, you witches’ children, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! ⁴Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! ⁵You worship your idols with great passion beneath the oaks and under every green tree. You sacrifice your children down in the valleys, among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.

⁶Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them with liquid offerings and grain offerings. They, not I, are your inheritance. Do you think all this makes me happy? ⁷You have committed adultery on every high mountain. There you have worshiped idols and have been unfaithful to me. ⁸You have put pagan symbols on your doorposts and behind your doors. You have left me and climbed into bed with these detestable gods. You have committed yourselves to them. You love to look at their naked bodies.

⁹You have gone to Molech with olive oil and many perfumes, sending your agents far and wide, even to the world of the dead. ¹⁰You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. Desire gave you renewed strength, and you did not grow weary. ¹¹“Are you afraid of these idols? Do they terrify you? Is that why you have lied to me and forgotten me and my words? Is it because of my long silence that you no longer fear me?

¹²Now I will expose your so-called good deeds. None of them will help you. ¹³Let’s see if your idols can save you when you cry to them for help. Why, a puff of wind can knock them down! If you just breathe on them, they fall over! But whoever trusts in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

I dwell with the contrite

¹⁴God says, “Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity.”c ¹⁵The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.d ¹⁶For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always be angry. If I were, all people would pass away— all the souls I have made.e

¹⁷I was angry, so I punished these greedy people. I withdrew from them, but they kept going on their own stubborn way. ¹⁸I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn,f ¹⁹bringing words of praise to their lips. May they have abundant peace, both near and far,” says the Lord, who heals them.g

²⁰“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt. ²¹There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.h