Isaiah 57
1 The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
2 He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
3 “But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the offspring of the adulterer and the prostitute.
4 Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom do you make a wide mouth, and stick out your tongue? Aren’t you children of disobedience, offspring of falsehood,
5 you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who slaughter the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion. They are your lot. Even to them you have poured a drink offering. You have offered an offering. Should I be appeased for these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed. There also you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the doors and the posts you have set up your memorial; for you have uncovered yourself to someone besides me, and have gone up. You have enlarged your bed, and made yourself a covenant with them. You loved their bed where you saw it.
9 You went to the king with oil, and increased your perfumes, and sent your ambassadors far off, and debased yourself even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way; yet you didn’t say, “It is hopeless.” You found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren’t faint.
11 Of whom have you been afraid and in fear, that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven’t I held my peace even of long time, and you don’t fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they will not profit you.
13 When you cry, let those who you have gathered deliver you; but the wind will take them, a breath will carry them all away. But he who takes refuge in me will possess the land, and will inherit my holy mountain.”
14 He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling block out of the way of my people.”
15 For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls which I have made.
17 I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness, and struck him. I hid myself and was angry. He went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips: “Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near,” says Yahweh; “and I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest, and its waters cast up mire and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 57 Commentary and Bible Study
Chapter Overview
Isaiah 57 continues the warning against failed leadership at the end of Isaiah 56, but begins with faithful people those leaders ignore. The righteous die, and society does not consider what their loss means. Isaiah then exposes Judah’s idolatry through images of adultery, child sacrifice, secret alliances, and exhausting journeys after false gods.
The chapter turns in verse 14 as God commands that the road be cleared for his people. The high and eternal One also dwells with the contrite and humble. Though he judged covetousness and rebellion, he promises to lead, comfort, and heal. Isaiah ends by contrasting God-given peace with the unrest of persistent wickedness.
Key Themes
The death of the righteous in verses 1–2 does not mean God has forgotten them. They are “taken away from the evil to come” and enter peace, resting after an upright walk. The wording may include protection from approaching judgment, but it does not explain every early death. Isaiah mainly rebukes a society too spiritually dull to recognize the seriousness of losing its faithful people.
Verses 3–4 summon the idolaters to judgment. Calling them children of a sorceress, adultery, and falsehood describes their spiritual character rather than providing a literal genealogy. They mock the faithful while behaving like a rebellious family that has adopted deception and occult religion as its inheritance.
Idolatry appears as inflamed desire “under every green tree.” Such locations were associated with unauthorized shrines and fertility worship. Isaiah’s language is intentionally unflattering: what the people celebrate as spiritual passion is exposed as uncontrolled desire directed toward gods that cannot save.
The slaughter of children in the valleys condemns one of the darkest expressions of Canaanite-style worship. Similar practices are denounced in 2 Kings 23 and Jeremiah 7. Religious sincerity cannot make cruelty holy.
The “smooth stones of the valley” may refer to stones treated as sacred objects or to worship performed in rocky ravines. The people call these objects their portion and lot—language elsewhere used for Yahweh as his people’s inheritance. They have given created things the loyalty and offerings that belong to the Creator.
The bed imagery in verses 7–8 develops the accusation of spiritual adultery. High places become beds, private homes display pagan memorials, and alliances with other powers resemble negotiated sexual relationships. Judah’s idolatry is not an accidental mistake but a chosen transfer of trust and affection away from God.
Going “to the king with oil” may describe political courtship of a foreign ruler, devotion to Molech, or wordplay involving both. In every case, Judah seeks security through compromised worship and costly diplomacy. Its distant journeys lead downward “even to Sheol,” because trust built apart from God produces death.
Verse 10 portrays astonishing persistence in the wrong direction. The people become weary but refuse to say, “It is hopeless.” They discover enough temporary strength to continue. Perseverance is not automatically virtuous; determination becomes destructive when it keeps a person committed to an idolatrous path.
God asks whom they feared so much that they lied and forgot him. Fear of nations, rulers, social pressure, or imagined spiritual powers displaced fear of Yahweh. God’s long silence was misread as absence or approval. Patience should have led to repentance, but it instead encouraged presumption.
“I will declare your righteousness” in verse 12 is ironic. God will expose what their claimed righteousness is actually worth, and their works will not profit them. Their religious activity, political labor, and self-justification cannot withstand divine evaluation.
The gathered idols and allies will be carried off by a breath, but the person who takes refuge in God will inherit the land and holy mountain. The contrast is between accumulating protectors and finding one true refuge. What appears impressive may be lighter than wind, while humble trust receives lasting belonging.
“Build up, build up, prepare the way” echoes the highway language of Isaiah 40. God is preparing a return and removing obstacles from his people’s path. Restoration is his work, but the command also confronts anything—false teaching, injustice, shame, or hardened unbelief—that blocks people from returning to him.
Verse 15 joins truths often separated. God is the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity and whose name is Holy, yet he dwells with the contrite and humble. Contrition is not mere sadness or low self-esteem, but a heart opened to repentance and dependence. God does not crush such people; he revives the life that guilt, oppression, or judgment has drained away.
God says he will not contend or remain angry forever because the spirits and lives he created would faint before him. Judgment is real, but it is not God’s final purpose for repentant people. His knowledge as Creator sets a limit on discipline and reveals compassion for human frailty.
Covetousness in verse 17 represents more than private greed. It is grasping desire that drives idolatry, exploitation, and faithless alliances. God struck and hid himself, yet the people continued backsliding “in the way of his heart.” External discipline alone cannot heal a heart determined to follow its own direction.
The surprising statement in verse 18 is, “I have seen his ways, and will heal him.” God does not heal because the way was righteous; he has just called it backsliding. Healing begins in sovereign mercy. God promises to lead the wanderer and restore comfort to him and to those who mourn the consequences of sin and judgment.
God “creates the fruit of the lips,” producing praise where grief and rebellion ruled. “Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near” first embraces scattered exiles and those nearer Zion. In Ephesians 2, Paul applies similar language to Christ’s reconciliation of Gentiles and Jews.
The final image prevents a shallow reading of grace. The wicked resemble a troubled sea that cannot rest and continually throws up mud. Wickedness is inward disorder as well as outward wrongdoing; refusing God’s healing leaves the heart restless even when circumstances seem calm.
“There is no peace for the wicked” repeats Isaiah 48. It does not mean believers always feel calm or wrongdoers always appear anxious. It means rebellion cannot produce the reconciled wholeness God gives.
Important Verses and Questions
Why are the righteous taken away from evil? In this setting, death may spare them from approaching national disaster while bringing them into rest. The verse gives hope but should not be used to claim knowledge of God’s reason for every death.
Who are the people addressed as children of sorcery and adultery? They are members of the covenant society whose practices reveal allegiance to false worship. Isaiah describes spiritual identity through family language: their conduct shows what kind of influence they have chosen to resemble.
What is happening behind the doors and posts? The exact memorial is uncertain, but it likely represents an idolatrous sign placed where covenant words should have been remembered. Rebellion has moved from public shrines into the home.
Does verse 9 refer to a king or Molech? The Hebrew permits debate, and the context may criticize political dependence, pagan worship, or both. The clear point is that Judah humiliates itself seeking help apart from Yahweh.
How can the holy God dwell with sinful people? Verse 15 does not say God treats sin as unimportant. He dwells with the contrite—those who acknowledge their condition and turn from self-exaltation. His holiness both exposes pride and supplies the reviving mercy sinners cannot produce for themselves.
Why does God heal people after saying they continued to backslide? The sequence emphasizes grace. Their behavior explains the judgment, not the healing. God sees the rebellious path clearly and nevertheless acts to lead, comfort, and restore, creating the possibility of renewed obedience.
Who are the “far” and “near”? In Isaiah’s immediate horizon, the far are the dispersed and exiled, while the near are those closer to Jerusalem. The phrase later supports a wider gathering, but its first meaning belongs to restoration after judgment.
Practical Applications
Do not measure a life only by public recognition or length. Society barely notices Isaiah’s righteous, but God sees their upright walk and receives them into peace. Faithfulness matters when louder and more compromised people receive the praise.
Examine what your perseverance serves. Judah keeps finding strength for exhausting journeys after false security. Before admiring determination, ask whether its destination is true and obedient. Repentance may require abandoning a long-sustained effort.
Treat God’s patience as an invitation, not permission. Silence after sin can be misread as proof that nothing is wrong. Isaiah warns that delayed judgment does not make rebellion safe. A quiet season is an opportunity to remember God and return to him.
Bring a contrite heart rather than a polished defense. The eternal and holy God promises to dwell with the humble and revive them. Honest confession does not repel him. Pride keeps resisting the Physician, while humility opens the life to guidance, comfort, and healing.
Seek peace through refuge in God, not multiplied substitutes. Idols, alliances, status, money, and approval demand sacrifice while remaining unable to save. God’s refuge is secure because it rests on his character, not our accumulated defenses.
Let restored hearts produce restored speech. Those who receive mercy should speak truth, comfort mourners, and become witnesses of reconciliation. Yet Isaiah forbids dishonest reassurance: peace must not be promised as though persistent wickedness has no consequences.