Isaiah

A righteous person perishes,And no one considers;The pious are taken away,And no one gives thoughtThat because of evilThe righteous one was taken away.

Yet one who walked straightforwardShall come to peace,Shall have rest on their couch.aShall have rest on their couch Heb. “they…shall have rest on their couches.” Here, “couch” is a euphemism for the grave; cf. 2 Chron. 16.14.

But as for you, come closer,You children of a sorceress,You offspring of an adulterer and a whore!ba whore Lit. “she acts the whore.”

With whom do you act so familiarly?At whom do you open your mouthAnd stick out your tongue?Why, you are children of iniquity,Offspring of treachery—

You who inflame yourselvescinflame yourselves In some frenzied idolatrous rite.Among the terebinths,Under every verdant tree;Who slaughter children in the wadis,AmongdAmong Heb. “under.” the clefts of the rocks.

With suchesuch The cult-trees referred to in v. 5. are your share and portion,fWith such are your share and portion Meaning of Heb. uncertain. They, they are your allotment;To them you have poured out libations,Presented offerings.Should I relent in the face of this?

On a high and lofty hillYou have set your couch;There, too, you have gone upTo perform sacrifices.

Behind the door and doorpostYou have directed your thoughts;Abandoning Me, you have gone upOn the couch you made so wide.You have made a covenant with them;gthem The cult-trees referred to in v. 5. You have loved bedding with them;hthem The objects behind door and doorpost. You have chosen lust.ilust Like Ugaritic yd, from root ydd, “to love.”

You have approachedjAbandoning Me … You have approached Meaning of Heb. uncertain. the kingkthe king Or “Molech.” with oil,You have provided many perfumes.And you have sent your envoys afar,Even down to the netherworld.lI.e., you have brought tribute to alien cults as to a king.

Though wearied by much travel,You never said, “I give up!”You found gratification for your lust,And so you never cared.

Whom do you dread and fear,That you tell lies?mWhom do you dread and fear, / That you tell lies? Emendation yields “Them you dreaded and feared, / And so you gave them thought.” But you gave no thought to Me,You paid no heed.It is because I have stood idly by so longnso long Emendation yields “and shut My eyes.” That you have no fear of Me.

I hereby pronounce judgment upon your deeds:ojudgment upon your deeds: Lit. “your retribution and your deeds.” Your assorted [idols]pYour assorted [idols] Moved up from v. 13 for clarity. shall not avail you,

Shall not save you when you cry out.They shall all be borne off by the wind,Snatched away by a breeze.But those who trust in Me shall inherit the landAnd possess My sacred mount.

[GOD] says:Build up, build up a highway!Clear a road!Remove all obstaclesFrom the road of My people!

For thus said the One who high aloftForever dwells, whose name is holy:I dwell on high, in holiness;Yet with the contrite and the lowly in spirit—Reviving the spirits of the lowly,Reviving the hearts of the contrite.

For I will not always contend,I will not be angry forever:Nay, I who make spirits flag,qwho make spirits flag Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Also create the breath of life.

For theirrtheir I.e., Israel’s. Cf. “My people,” v. 14. sinful greed I was angry;I struck them and turned away in My wrath.Though stubborn, they follow the way of their hearts,sThough stubborn, they follow the way of their hearts Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “When they have walked broken in the contrition of their hearts.”

I note how they fare and will heal them:I will guide them and mete out solace to them,And to the mourners among them

heartening,theartening Lit. “the vigor of”; cf. Eccl. 12.1 and postbiblical bori. comfortingucomforting The Heb. nib is otherwise unknown; its meaning is inferred from that of nid (cf. the verb nad “to condole”) in the parallel expression in Job 16.5. words:It shall be well,Well with the far and the near—said GOD—And I will heal them.

But the wicked are like the troubled seaThat cannot rest,Whose waters toss up mire and mud.

There is no safety—said my God—For the wicked.