Isaiah 57:5

Isaiah 57:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
• New International Version (NIV)You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.
• English Standard Version (ESV)you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks?

Context of Isaiah 57:5

3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress [raised in deception and superstition], Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute. 4Of whom do you make fun? Against whom do you open wide your mouth And stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion (sin), Offspring of deceit, Who inflame yourselves [with lust in pagan rites] among the oaks (terebinth trees), Under every green and leafy tree, Who slaughter the children [in sacrifice] in the ravines Under the clefts of the rocks? 6Among the smooth stones of the ravine Is your portion, they (the idols) are your lot; Even to them you have poured out a drink offering, You have offered a grain offering. Should I be quiet concerning these things [leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience]? 7Upon a high and lofty mountain You have [openly and shamelessly] made your [idolatrous and adulterous] bed; Even there you went up to offer sacrifice [to idols, in spiritual unfaithfulness to Me].

Isaiah 57:5 word by word

הַנֵּֽחָמִים֙ בָּֽאֵלִ֔ים תַּ֖חַת כָּל־עֵ֣ץ רַעֲנָ֑ן שֹׁחֲטֵ֤י הַיְלָדִים֙ בַּנְּחָלִ֔ים תַּ֖חַת סְעִפֵ֥י הַסְּלָעִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Enflamingחָמַםchâmam · to warmH2552
• yourselves with idolsאֵל'êl · GodH410
• under every greenרַעֲנָןra‛ănân · luxuriantH7488
• treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
• slayingשָׁחַטshâchaţ · to slaughterH7819
• the childrenיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
• in the valleysנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: valleyH5158
• under the cliftsסָעִיףsâ‛îyph · cleftH5585
• of the rocksסֶ֫לַעsela‛ · cragH5553

Cross-references for Isaiah 57:5

• Exodus 32:6So they got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; then the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play [shamefully—without moral restraint].
• Numbers 25:1Israel settled and remained in Shittim, and the people began to play the prostitute with the women of Moab [by being unfaithful to God].
• Jeremiah 50:38A drought on her waters, and they will dry up! For it is a land of [worthless] idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols [those objects of terror in which they foolishly trust].
• Jeremiah 51:7Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations have gone mad.
• Hosea 4:11Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away the mind and the [spiritual] understanding.
• Hosea 7:4They are all adulterers; Like the heat of an oven When the baker ceases to stir the fire, [their passion smolders] From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
• Amos 2:7These who pant after (long to see) the dust of the earth on the head of the helpless [as sign of their grief and distress] Also turn aside the way of the humble; And a man and his father will go to the same girl So that My holy name is profaned.
• Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment and doom of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters [influencing nations],
• Revelation 18:3For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her [sexual] immorality, and the kings and political leaders of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth and economic power of her sensuous luxury.”
• Isaiah 1:29For you will be ashamed [of the degradation] of the oaks in which you took [idolatrous] pleasure, And you will be ashamed of the gardens [of passion] which you have chosen [for pagan worship].
• Deuteronomy 12:2You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and the hills and under every green [leafy] tree.
• 1 Kings 14:23For they also built for themselves high places [to worship idols] and sacred pillars and Asherim [for the goddess Asherah]. These were on every high hill and under every luxuriant tree.
• 2 Kings 16:3Instead he walked in the way of the [idolatrous] kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire [as a human sacrifice], in accordance with the repulsive [and idolatrous] practices of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.
• 2 Kings 17:10They set up for themselves sacred pillars (memorial stones) and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree.
• Jeremiah 2:20“For long ago you broke your yoke [in deliberate disobedience] And tore off your bonds [of the law that I gave you]; You said, ‘I will not serve and obey You!’ For on every high hill And under every green tree You have lain down [in idolatrous worship] like a [compliant] prostitute.
• Jeremiah 3:6Moreover, the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king [of Judah], “Have you seen what that faithless Israel has done—how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there she was a prostitute?

Commentaries on Isaiah 57:5

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Inflaming yourselves - Burning, that is, with lust. The whole language here is derived from adulterous intercourse. The sense is, that they were greatly addicted to idolatry, and that they used every means to increase and extend the practice of it. The Vulgate, however, renders this, Who console yourselves.‘ The Septuagint renders it, Invoking ( ͂ parakalountes ) idols.‘ But the proper meaning of the Hebrew word חמם châmam is, “to become warm; to be…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-12Verses 3-12 The Lord here calls apostates and hypocrites to appear before him. When reproved for their sins, and threatened with judgments, they ridiculed the word of God. The Jews were guilty of idolatry before the captivity; but not after that affliction. Their zeal in the worship of false gods, may shame our indifference in the worship of the true God. The service of sin is disgraceful slavery; those who thus debase themselves to hell, will justly have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree: People often used groups of trees as places to worship false gods. These tree groves were common sites for pagan worship (see Isaiah 1:29–30). slaughter your children: Some people in Israel practiced the terrible act of child sacrifice. They offered their children to false gods. This happened at certain times in Israel’s history (see Psalm 106:37–38).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Enflaming yourselves--burning with lust towards idols [Gesenius]; or else (compare Margin), in the terebinth groves, which the Hebrew and the parallelism favor (see on Is 1:29) [Maurer]. under ... tree--(2Ki 17:10). The tree, as in the Assyrian sculptures, was probably made an idolatrous symbol of the heavenly hosts. slaying ... children--as a sacrifice to Molech, &c. (2Ki 17:31; 2Ch 28:3; 33:6). in ... valleys--the valley of the son of Hinnom. Fire…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 57:5

• Idolatry
• Infidelity
• Molech
• Offerings

In the dictionaries

• Bed
• Dirt
• Eternity
• Inhabit
• Lofty
• Oak
• Cleft; Cliff; Clift
• Color; Colors
• Inflame; Enflame
• Isaiah

Commentaries on Isaiah 57

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings