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Isaiah 57 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Isa 57:1

Isa 57:1Good 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.

Isa 57:2

Isa 57:2For those who follow godly paths
will rest in peace when they die.
Idolatrous Worship Condemned

Isa 57:3

Isa 57:3“But you—come here, you witches’ children,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

Isa 57:4

Isa 57:4Whom do you mock,
making faces and sticking out your tongues?
You children of sinners and liars!

Isa 57:5

Isa 57:5You 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.

Isa 57:6

Isa 57:6Your 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?

Isa 57:7

Isa 57:7You have committed adultery on every high mountain.
There you have worshiped idols
and have been unfaithful to me.

Isa 57:8

Isa 57:8You 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.

Isa 57:9

Isa 57:9You have given olive oil to Molech[fn]
with many gifts of perfume.
You have traveled far,
even into the world of the dead,[fn]
to find new gods to love.

Isa 57:10

Isa 57:10You grew weary in your search,
but you never gave up.
Desire gave you renewed strength,
and you did not grow weary.

Isa 57:11

Isa 57:11“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?

Isa 57:12

Isa 57:12Now I will expose your so-called good deeds.
None of them will help you.

Isa 57:13

Isa 57:13Let’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.”
God Forgives the Repentant

Isa 57:14

Isa 57:14God says, “Rebuild the road!
Clear away the rocks and stones
so my people can return from captivity.”

Isa 57:15

Isa 57:15The 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.

Isa 57:16

Isa 57:16For 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.

Isa 57:17

Isa 57:17I was angry,
so I punished these greedy people.
I withdrew from them,
but they kept going on their own stubborn way.

Isa 57:18

Isa 57:18I have seen what they do,
but I will heal them anyway!
I will lead them.
I will comfort those who mourn,

Isa 57:19

Isa 57:19bringing words of praise to their lips.
May they have abundant peace, both near and far,”
says the LORD, who heals them.

Isa 57:20

Isa 57:20“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,
which is never still
but continually churns up mud and dirt.

Isa 57:21

Isa 57:21There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Or to the king.
Hebrew into Sheol.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

Isaiah Chapter 57 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras