New International Version
Isaiah 57:20
20But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.
Isaiah 57:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt.
Context of Isaiah 57:20
18I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, 19creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.” But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. 21“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Read all of Isaiah 57Isaiah 57:20 word by word
וְהָרְשָׁעִ֖ים כַּיָּ֣ם נִגְרָ֑שׁ כִּ֤י הַשְׁקֵט֙ לֹ֣א יוּכָ֔ל וַיִּגְרְשׁ֥וּ מֵימָ֖יו רֶ֥פֶשׁ וָטִֽיט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 57:20
- Isaiah 3:11Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
- Job 15:20All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.
- Job 18:5“The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning.
- Job 20:11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.
- Psalms 73:18Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
- Proverbs 4:16For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
- Jude 1:12These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
Commentaries on Isaiah 57:20
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20But the wicked - All who are transgressors of the law and who remain unpardoned. The design of this is to contrast their condition with that of those who should enjoy peace. The proposition is, therefore, of the most general character. All the wicked are like the troubled sea. Whether prosperous or otherwise; rich or poor; bond or free; old or young; whether in Christian, in civilized, or in barbarous lands; whether living in palaces, in caves, or in…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-21Verses 13-21 The idols and their worshippers shall come to nothing; but those who trust in God's grace, shall be brought to the joys of heaven. With the Lord there is neither beginning of days, nor end of life, nor change of time. His name is holy, and all must know him as a holy God. He will have tender regard to those who bring their mind to their condition, and dread his wrath. He will make his abode with those whose hearts he has thus humbled, in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20storm-tossed sea … it cannot be still: People who constantly oppose God (see Psalms 46:3, 6; 93:3–4) do not find inner peace because they are not at peace with God (Isaiah 30:15; 32:17). churn up mire and muck: Their actions are often unproductive (see Psalm 40:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. when it cannot rest--rather, "for it can have no rest" (Job 15:20, &c.; Pr 4:16, 17). English Version represents the sea as occasionally agitated; but the Hebrew expresses that it can never be at rest.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 57:20
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
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