Isaiah 57 is the fifty-seventh chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

, and is one of the

Books of the Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

. Chapter 57 is the second chapter of the final section of the Book of Isaiah, often referred to as ''Trito-Isaiah''.

Text

The original text was written in

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 21 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century),

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

(3rd century BC or later): * 1QIsa^a: with all verses (1–21) * 1QIsa: extant verses 1–4, 17–21 * 4QIsa^d (4Q58): extant verses 9–21 * 4QIsa^h (4Q62): extant verses 5–8 There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the

version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

Parashot

The '' parashah'' sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 57 is a part of the ''Consolations (

Isaiah 40 Isaiah 40 is the fortieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, and the first chapter of the section known as "Deutero-Isaiah" (Isaiah 40- 55), dating from the time of the Israelites' ex ...

–66)''. : open ''parashah''; : closed ''parashah''. : 56:10-1257:1-2 57:3-14 57:15-21

Israel's futile idolatry (57:1–13)

Verses 1–2 contain awkward shifts between singular and plural, contrasting a group whom the prophetic tradition approves and others who are strongly condemned. Those being detested get more detailed attention with their parentage attacked (verse 3), their behavior deemed childish (verse 4) and their evil practices spelt out at length, including sexual offences as well as child-sacrifice (verse 5), which were regarded idolatrous (recalling the continuous danger of prostitution of the city described in Isaiah 1:21–23). Verses 11–13 continue the condemnation, ending with a 'mockery of idols' resembling that in chapters 44 and 45, but also assert the 'impregnable position of those who take refuge in YHWH'.

Verses 1–2

: ''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 evil.'' : ''He shall enter into peace;'' : ''They shall rest in their beds,'' : ''Each one walking in his uprightness.'' *"The righteous" (

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV): or "the just man" (NAB); "Good people" (TEV); "The godly" (

NET Bible The New English Translation (NET Bible) is a free, "completely new" online English translation of the Bible, "with 60,932 translators' notes" sponsored by the Biblical Studies Foundation and published by Biblical Studies Press. History and text ...

). *"Evil" or "the face of evil" These verses complain the (apparently violent) death of the righteous that went 'unnoticed and unlamented'.

Verse 13

:''When you cry out,'' :: ''let your collection of idols deliver you.'' : ''But the wind shall carry them all away,'' :: ''a breath shall take them away.'' : ''But he who puts his trust in Me'' :: ''shall possess the land'' :: ''and shall inherit My holy mountain.'' * "Holy mountain": this term recalls Isaiah 56:7 with the aspirations for the Temple, and of Isaiah 11:9 with the picture of paradise restored. The concluding promise, typical in Isaiah's polemic, is addressed to those who trust in the Lord (cf. Isaiah 30:18) who would 'gain title to land and control of the Jerusalem Temple'.

Healing for the contrite (57:14–21)

The double imperative in verse 14 recalls the series of such usages in chapters 49– 55 to indicate the consoling contents of this section ending with an assurance of God's continuing presence with the contrite and humble, a strong contrast with the earlier passage. Verses 19–20 provide a clear distinction between those accepted by God and 'the wicked', and the refrain, also found in Isaiah 48:22, fits naturally into its context.

Verse 14

: ''And it shall be said,'' ::''"Build up, build up, prepare the way,'' :::''take up every stumbling block out of the way of My people."'' *"Prepare the way": applied somewhat differently than the image of the highway of salvation in Isaiah 40:3 (cf. Isaiah 62:10), as in this verse it seems to be figurative for 'the removal of spiritual obstacles to the redemption of Israel' (Isaiah 57:17).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in parts by Cambridge University Press from 1882 onwards. Anglican bishop John Perowne was the general editor. The first section published was written by theologi ...

Isaiah 57
Accessed 28 April 2019.

Verse 15

: ''For thus says the High and Lofty One'' :: ''who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:'' : ''I dwell in the high and holy place'' :: ''and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit,'' : ''to revive the spirit of the humble,'' :: ''and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'' God's presence with the 'downtrodden and marginalized' (Isaiah 66:1–2) is associated with God's transcendence in Isaiah's vision ('the high and lofty one... whose name is Holy'; cf. Isaiah 6:1–5).

Verse 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.'' *" Frowardly" (cf. Jeremiah 3:14; Jeremiah 3:22; Jeremiah 31:22; Jeremiah 49:4): literally, "turning away" (RSV margin),

Isaiah 57
Accessed 28 April 2019. "turning back" or "backsliding".

Verse 19

:: ''by creating 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.'' Peace is offered to them that are 'nigh' ("near"), and to them that are 'afar off', applied by

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as "not only to the Jew, but also to the Gentile" in ; (cf. ).Benson, Joseph
'’Commentary on the Old and New Testaments''. Isaiah 57.
Accessed 9 Juli 2019.

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Jewish

Isaiah 57 Original Hebrew with Parallel English

Christian

Isaiah 57 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaiah, Book Of 57