English Standard Version
Isaiah 57:1
1The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
Isaiah 57:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
- New International Version (NIV)The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Good 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.
Context of Isaiah 57:1
The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; 2he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness. 3But you, draw near, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
Read all of Isaiah 57Isaiah 57:1 word by word
הַצַּדִּ֣יק אָבָ֔ד וְאֵ֥ין אִ֖ישׁ שָׂ֣ם עַל־לֵ֑ב וְאַנְשֵׁי־חֶ֤סֶד נֶֽאֱסָפִים֙ בְּאֵ֣ין מֵבִ֔ין כִּֽי־מִפְּנֵ֥י הָרָעָ֖ה נֶאֱסַ֥ף הַצַּדִּֽיק׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- perishethאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
- and no manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- layethשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- to heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- and mercifulחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- taken awayאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
- none consideringבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
- fromפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
Cross-references for Isaiah 57:1
- 2 Chronicles 32:33And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
- 2 Chronicles 35:24So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
- Isaiah 57:11Whom did you dread and fear, so that you lied, and did not remember me, did not lay it to heart? Have I not held my peace, even for a long time, and you do not fear me?
- Isaiah 42:24Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?
- Isaiah 47:7You said, "I shall be mistress forever," so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.
- Malachi 2:2If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
- Psalms 12:1Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
- Micah 7:2The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net.
- 1 Kings 14:13And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
- 2 Kings 22:20Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.'" And they brought back word to the king.
- 2 Chronicles 34:28Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.'" And they brought back word to the king.
Commentaries on Isaiah 57:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The righteous perisheth - אבד הצדק hatstsadik abad . There is an emphasis here which seems intended to point out a particular person. See below. Perisheth - As the root אבד abad signifies the straying of cattle, their passing away from one pasture to another, I feel inclined to follow the grammatical meaning of the word "perish," pereo. So the Vulgate, justus periit, from per, By or Through, and eo, to Go. In his death the righteous man may be said to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The righteous perisheth - This refers, as I suppose, to the time of Manasseh (see the Introduction, Section 3). Grotius supposes, that it refers to king Josiah; Vitringa, that it refers to martyrs in general. But it seems probable to me that the prophet designs to describe the state of stupidity which prevailed in his own time, and to urge as one proof of it, that the pious part of the nation was taken away by violent death, and that the nation was not…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The blessed death of the righteous. (Is. 57:1,2) The abominable idolatries of the Jewish nation. (Is. 57:3-12) Promises to the humble and contrite. (Is. 57:13-21) Verse 1 ,2 The righteous are delivered from the sting of death, not from the stroke of it. The careless world disregards this. Few lament it as a public loss, and very few notice it as a public warning. They are taken away in compassion, that they may not see the evil, nor share in it, nor be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1the presence of evil: Judgment that would come on the wicked nations. taken away: At times, God allows the godly to die in order to protect them from harsher times to come.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-21In the midst of the excesses of the unfaithful watchmen (Is 56:10, 11, 12), most of the few that are godly perish: partly by vexation at the prevailing ungodliness; partly by violent death in persecution: prophetical of the persecuting times of Manasseh, before God's judgments in causing the captivity in Babylon; and again those in the last age of the Church, before the final judgments on the apostasy (2Ki 21:16; Mt 23:29-35, 37; Re 11:17). The Hebrew for…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 57:1
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries