Evil Leaders Rebuked

¹The righteous man perishes, and no man puts it upon his heart;

And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands.

For the righteous man is gathered away from evil,

²He enters into peace;

They rest in their beds,

Each one who walked in his upright way.

³“But draw near, you sons of a soothsayer,

Seed of an adulterer and a prostitute.

⁴“Against whom do you jest?

Against whom do you open wide your mouth

And stick out your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

Seed of lying,

⁵Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,[#57:5 Or terebinths]

Under every green tree,

Who slaughter the children in the ravines,

Under the clefts of the cliffs?

⁶“Among the smooth stones of the ravine[#57:6 Symbols of fertility gods; #57:6 Or wadi]

Is your portion, they are your lot;

Even to them you have poured out a drink offering;

You have made a grain offering.

Shall I relent concerning these things?

⁷“Upon a mountain lofty and lifted up

You have made your bed.

You also went up there to offer sacrifice.

⁸“Behind the door and the doorpost

You have set up your memorial;

Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,

And have gone up and made your bed wide,

And you have cut a covenant for yourself with them;

You have loved their bed;

You have looked on their manhood.

⁹“You have journeyed to the king with oil

And increased your perfumes;

You have sent your envoys a great distance

And made them go down to Sheol.

¹⁰“You were tired out by the length of your road,

Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless.’

You found renewed strength;

Therefore you did not faint.

¹¹¶“Of whom were you anxious and fearful

When you lied and did not remember Me,

Nor even put Me upon your heart?

Was I not silent even for a long time

So you do not fear Me?

¹²“I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,

But they will not profit you.

¹³“When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you.

But the wind will lift all of them up,

And a breath will take them away .

But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land

And will possess My holy mountain.”

Yahweh Revives the Spirit of the Lowly

¹⁴¶And it will be said,

“Build up, build up, prepare the way,

Remove every stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

¹⁵For thus says the One high and lifted up

Who dwells forever, whose name is Holy,

“I dwell on a high and holy place,

And also with the crushed and lowly of spirit

In order to revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the crushed.

¹⁶“For I will not contend forever,

Nor will I always be angry;

For the spirit would grow faint before Me,

And the breath of those whom I have made.

¹⁷“Because of the iniquity of his greedy gain I was angry and struck him;

I hid My face and was angry,

And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.

¹⁸“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and pay him and his mourners in full with comfort,

¹⁹Creating the praise of the lips.[#57:19 Lit fruit of the lips]

Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”

Says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.”

²⁰But the wicked are like the tossing sea,

For it cannot be quiet,

And its waters toss up refuse and mud.

²¹“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”