---
title: "Isaiah 57 - Study King James Bible with barnes notes on the whole bible"
description: "Read Isaiah 57 with barnes notes on the whole bible commentary. 1 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"
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url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/isaiah/57"
---

[ Read](/kjv/isaiah/57)[ Commentary](/study/isaiah/57)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/isaiah/57) Audio

 1 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*.**

 2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, *each one* walking *in* his uprightness.**

 3 ¶ But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

 4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, *and* draw out the tongue? *are* ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

 5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?*

 6 Among the smooth *stones* of the stream *is* thy portion; they, they *are* thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?

 7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

 8 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered *thyself to another* than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee *a covenant* with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest *it*.**

 9 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.*

 10 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; *yet* saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.*

 11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid *it* to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?

 12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.

 13 ¶ When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take *them:* but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;

 14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.

 15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name *is* Holy; I dwell in the high and holy *place*, with him also *that is* of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls *which* I have made.

 17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.*

 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

 19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to *him that is* far off, and to *him that is* near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.

 20 But the wicked *are* like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

 21 *There is* no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
 
[Isaiah 56](/study/isaiah/56) [Isaiah 58](/study/isaiah/58)

## Commentary

 To verse 1
 
**The 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 affected by it. Such was the guilt of Manasseh; so violent was the persecution which he excited against the just, that it is said of him that he ‘shed innocent blood very much, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another’ [2 Kings 22:16](/kjv/2-kings/22/16). There is evidence (see the Introduction, Section 2), that Isaiah lived to his time, and it is probable that he himself ultimately fell a victim to the race of Manasseh. Though he had, on account of his great age, retired from the public functions of the prophetic office, yet he could not be insensible to the existence of these evils, and his spirit would not suffer him to be silent even though bowed down by age, when the land was filled with abominations, and when the best blood of the nation was poured out like water. The word rendered ‘perisheth’ (אבד *'ābad*) as well as the word rendered ‘taken away’ (אסף *'âsaph*) denotes violence, and is indicative of the fact that they were removed by a premature death. 

**And no man layeth it to heart -**No one is aroused by it, or is concerned about it. The sentiment of the passage is, that it is proof of great stupidity and guilt when people see the righteous die without concern. If the pious die by persecution and others are not aroused, it shows that they acquiesce in it, or have no confidence in God, and no desire that his people should be preserved; if they die in the ordinary mode and the people are unaffected, it shows their stupidity. The withdrawment of a pious man from the earth is a public calamity. His prayers, his example, his life, were among the richest blessings of the world, and people should be deeply affected when they are withdrawn; and it shows their guilt and stupidity when they see this with indifference. It increases the evidence of this guilt when, as is sometimes the case, the removal of the righteous by death is an occasion of joy. The wicked hate the secret rebuke which is furnished by a holy life, and they often feel a secret exultation when such people die. 

**And merciful men -**Margin, ‘Men of kindness,’ or ‘godliness.’ Lowth and Noyes render it, ‘Pious men.’ The Septuagint, Ἄνδρες δίκαιοι *Andres* *dikaioi* - ‘Just men.’ The Hebrew word denotes “mercy” or “kindness” (חסד *chesed*). Here it probably means, ‘Men of mercy;’ that is, people who are the subjects of mercy; people who are pious, or devoted to God. 

**Are taken away -**Hebrew, ‘Are gathered.’ That is, they are gathered to their fathers by death. 

**None considering -**They were not anxious to know what was the design of Divine Providence in permitting it. 

**From the evil to come -**Margin, ‘That which is evil.’ The idea here evidently is, that severe calamities were coming upon the nation. God was about to give them up to foreign invasion ([Isaiah 56:9](/kjv/isaiah/56/9) ff); and the true reason why the just were removed was, that they may not be subject to the divine wrath which should come upon the nation; they were not to be required to contemplate the painful state of things when an enemy should fire the cities, the palaces, and the temple, and cause the sacred services of religion to cease. It was a less evil for them to be removed by death - even by the painful death of persecution - than to be compelled to participate in these coming sorrows. At the same time this passage may be regarded as inculcating a more general truth still. It is, that the pious are often removed in order that they may not be exposed to evils which they would experience should they live. There might be the pains and sorrows of persecution; there might be long and lingering disease; there might be poverty and want; there might be the prevalence of iniquity and infidelity over which their hearts would bleed; there might be long and painful conflicts with their own evil hearts, or there might be danger that they would fall into sin, and dishonor their high calling. For some or all these reasons the righteous may be withdrawn from the world; and could we see those reasons as God does, nothing more would be necessary to induce us to acquiesce entirely in the justice of his dealings.

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