Isaiah 57:9

Isaiah 57:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
• New International Version (NIV)You went to Molek with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the very realm of the dead!
• English Standard Version (ESV)You journeyed to the king with oil and multiplied your perfumes; you sent your envoys far off, and sent down even to Sheol.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You went to the king with ointment, And increased your perfumes; You sent your messengers far off, And even descended to Sheol.

Context of Isaiah 57:9

7You go up to the tops of high hills, and you lie down there to have sex. You go there to offer sacrifices to your gods. 8You put your images behind the doors of your rooms. Then you turn your backs to me, and you get into bed with your false gods. You have made an agreement with them. You pay money to have sex with your lovers. You love to see their bare bodies. You take olive oil as a gift to your king, and also many perfumes. You send your people far away to get news of other gods. You even talk to the spirits of dead people. 10You become very tired, because you travel so far. But you would never say, “This is useless!” Instead, you find new strength, and you do not stop. 11What idol are you so afraid of, that you choose to deceive me? You seem to have forgotten about me. You do not think about me at all. Have I been silent for too long? Is that why you no longer respect me?

Isaiah 57:9 word by word

וַתָּשֻׁ֤רִי לַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ בַּשֶּׁ֔מֶן וַתַּרְבִּ֖י רִקֻּחָ֑יִךְ וַתְּשַׁלְּחִ֤י צִרַ֙יךְ֙ עַד־מֵ֣רָחֹ֔ק וַתַּשְׁפִּ֖ילִי עַד־שְׁאֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thou wentestשׁוּרshûr · to travelH7788
• to the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• with ointmentשֶׁ֫מֶןshemen · oilH8081
• and didst increaseרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• thy perfumesרַקּוּחַraqqûach · perfumeryH7547
• and didst sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• thy messengersצִירtsîyr · envoyH6735
• far offרָחֹקrâchôq râchôq · distantH7350
• and didst debaseשָׁפֵלshâphêl · to abaseH8213
• unto hellשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585

Cross-references for Isaiah 57:9

• Isaiah 30:1The Lord says, ‘It will be very bad for you, my children who have turned against me. You have decided what to do, but you did not ask me about it. You have made an agreement with Egypt, but without my Spirit's help. In that way, you continue to do more and more sins.
• Isaiah 31:1It will be very bad for those people who expect that Egypt will help them. They think that Egypt's many horses and chariots will keep them safe. They trust the power of Egypt's strong soldiers who ride on horses. But those people do not trust the Holy God of Israel. They do not ask the Lord to help them.
• 2 Kings 16:7King Ahaz sent a message to Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria. He said, ‘I am your servant and I need your help. The king of Syria and the king of Israel have brought their armies to attack me in Jerusalem. Please come here to rescue me.’
• Ezekiel 16:33Prostitutes receive money when they have sex with someone. Instead, you give gifts to all the men who have sex with you. You pay them to come from many different places to have sex with you.
• Ezekiel 23:16When Oholibah saw these pictures, she wanted the men to be her lovers. She sent messages to them in Babylonia.
• Hosea 7:11Ephraim has become like a silly dove. He cannot decide where to go. The Israelites ask Egypt to help them. Then they decide to ask Assyria instead.
• Hosea 12:1Ephraim's people chase after useless things all the time. They think that they can catch the wind that comes from the east! But the result is more violence and lies. They make an agreement with Assyria to get their help. They also send their olive oil to Egypt to ask for their help.
• Proverbs 7:17I have splashed many kinds of perfume on my bed, like myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
• Isaiah 2:9People bend down low in front of their idols. They even lie flat on the ground! Lord, do not forgive them!
• Colossians 2:18Some people may tell you that you must always serve other people like a slave. They may tell you that you must worship angels. Do not let those people speak bad things against you. They like to talk a lot about the special things that God has shown them. They think that they are very clever. But their ideas only come from human minds.

Commentaries on Isaiah 57:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9And thou wentest to the king with ointment "And thou hast visited the king with a present of oil" - That is, the king of Assyria, or Egypt. Hosea, chap, Hosea 12:1, reproaches the Israelites for the same practice: - "They make a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt." It is well known, that in all parts of the east, whoever visits a great person must carry him a present. "It is counted uncivil," says Maundreg, p. 26, "to visit in this country…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And thou wentest to the king - Margin, Respectedst.‘ Jerome renders this, Thou hast adorned thyself with royal ointment, and hast multiplied thy painting; and evidently understands it as a continuance of the sentiment in the previous verses as referring to the kind of decoration which harlots used. The Septuagint renders it, Thou hast multiplied thy fornication with them, and hast done it with many who are far from thee.‘ The Chaldee renders it, When thou…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. 1-13This passage reflects on how common evil had become among God’s people. Many of them were greedy and wanted more and more for themselves (Isaiah 56:9–12). They treated righteous people with hatred and violence (Isaiah 57:1–2). They also worshiped idols instead of the true God (Isaiah 57:3–13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. the king--the idol which they came to worship, perfumed with oil, like harlots (Jr 4:30; Eze 23:16, 40). So "king" means idol (Am 5:26; Zep 1:5); (malcham meaning "king") [Rosenmuller]. Rather, the king of Assyria or Egypt, and other foreign princes, on whom Israel relied, instead of on God; the "ointment" will thus refer to the presents (Ho 12:1), and perhaps the compliances with foreigners' idolatries, whereby Israel sought to gain their favor…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 57:9

• Anointing
• Hell
• Idolatry
• Infidelity
• Perfume

In the dictionaries

• Bed
• Dirt
• Eternity
• Inhabit
• Lofty
• Perfumes
• Hades
• Isaiah
• Saviour
• Trade

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