Isaiah 57

This chapter belongs to the latter part of Isaiah. At the end of Isaiah 56, the leaders of the people are rebuked as blind watchmen, and this chapter continues that indictment.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. The righteous are taken away before the calamity to come and enter into peace.
• Verses 3–10 Idolatry is denounced. The passage refers in turn to sexual immorality under the oaks and under every green tree, the slaying of children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks, drink offerings poured out to the smooth stones, a bed set up on a high mountain, and the bringing of oil to Molech.
• Verses 11–13 The people did not fear God. The idols they have gathered will be carried off by the wind, but whoever trusts in God will possess the land and inherit the holy mountain.
• Verses 14–19 A command is given to build up the road and remove the stumbling blocks. The One who dwells in the high and holy place also dwells with the contrite and declares that He will not be angry forever but will heal them. Peace is proclaimed to those who are far off and to those who are near.
• Verses 20–21 The wicked are like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt; they have no peace.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 57:15 "with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit" — This verse speaks at once of God's exaltation and of His presence with the lowly.
• Isaiah 57:19 "Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near" — This verse is quoted in the New Testament.
• Isaiah 57:21 "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." — Nearly the same words appear in Isaiah 48:22.

People and Places

• The LORD: The speaker throughout the chapter.
• Molech: A foreign deity associated with child sacrifice.
• The valley: The place where children were slain; the text does not name it. Many interpreters associate it with the Valley of Hinnom.
• The holy mountain: Commonly understood as Zion, that is, Jerusalem.

Points for Reflection

• Some sermons interpret verses 1–2 as teaching that God spares the righteous from calamity through an early death. What the text directly rebukes, however, is the community's indifference to that death.
• Critical scholarship often regards chapters 56–66 as oracles from the period after the return from exile. Conservative interpretation regards them as Isaiah's own prophecy and sometimes connects the depiction of idolatry with the reign of Manasseh.
• On the basis of the refrain repeated in 48:22 and 57:21, some read Isaiah 40–66 as divided into three sections.
• In Ephesians 2:14–17, Paul borrows the language of verse 19 to speak of the peace that Gentiles and Jews together receive in Christ.

In the Korean Church

Verse 15 is frequently cited in sermons on repentance and humility.