New Living Translation

New King James Version

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.

1

Israel’s Futile Idolatry

The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [a]evil.

2

For those who follow godly paths
will rest in peace when they die.
Idolatrous Worship Condemned

2

He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.

3

“But you — come here, you witches’ children,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

3

“But come here,
You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!

4

Whom do you mock,
making faces and sticking out your tongues?
You children of sinners and liars!

4

Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,

5

You 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.

5

Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree,
Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?

6

Your 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?

6

Among the smooth stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in these?

7

You have committed adultery on every high mountain.
There you have worshiped idols
and have been unfaithful to me.

7

“On a lofty and high mountain
You have set your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.

8

You 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.

8

Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And [b]made a covenant with them;
You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [c]nudity.

9

You have gone to Molecha
with olive oil and many perfumes,
sending your agents far and wide,
even to the world of the dead.b

9

You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.

10

You grew weary in your search,
but you never gave up.
Desire gave you renewed strength,
and you did not grow weary.

10

You are wearied in the length of your way;
Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.

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?

11

“And of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because I have [d]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?

12

Now I will expose your so-called good deeds.
None of them will help you.

12

I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.

13

Let’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.”
God Forgives the Repentant

13

When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”

14

God says, “Rebuild the road!
Clear away the rocks and stones
so my people can return from captivity.”

14

Healing for the Backslider

And one shall say,
“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

15

The 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.

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 who has 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 fight against you forever;
I will not always be angry.
If I were, all people would pass away —
all the souls I have made.

16

For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls which I have made.

17

I was angry,
so I punished these greedy people.
I withdrew from them,
but they kept going on their own stubborn way.

17

For the iniquity of his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
I hid and was angry,
And he went on [e]backsliding in the way of his heart.

18

I have seen what they do,
but I will heal them anyway!
I will lead them.
I will comfort those who mourn,

18

I have seen his ways, and will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to his mourners.

19

bringing words of praise to their lips.
May they have abundant peace, both near and far,”
says the LORD, who heals them.

19

“I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”

20

“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,
which is never still
but continually churns up mud and dirt.

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 for the wicked,”
says my God.

21

“There is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Isaiah 57

Isaiah 57