The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and {Or, godly}merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away {Or, through wickedness}from the evil to come.
He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh {Or, straight before him}in his uprightness.
But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.
Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and put out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
ye that inflame yourselves {Or, with idols}among the oaks, under every green tree; that slay the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot; even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering, thou hast offered {Or, a meal-offering}an oblation. Shall I be appeased for these things?
Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed; thither also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
And behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up thy memorial: for thou hast uncovered 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 {Or, thou providedst room for it}thou sawest it.
And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thine ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol.
Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidst thou not, It is in vain: thou didst find {Hebrew: the life of thy hand.}a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not {Hebrew: sick.}faint.
And of whom hast thou been afraid and in fear, that thou liest, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of long time, and thou fearest me not?
I will declare thy righteousness; and as for thy works, they shall not profit thee.
When thou criest, let {Or, thy rabble of idols.}them that thou hast gathered deliver thee; but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he that taketh refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.
And {Or, it shall be said}he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.
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.
For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made.
For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on {Hebrew: turning away.}backsliding in the way of his heart.
I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and {Hebrew: recompense.}restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 57,6 Jes 57,6
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
But ye that forsake Jehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for {Hebrew: Gad. See Genesis 30:11.}Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine unto {Hebrew: Meni.}Destiny;
He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's neck; he that offereth {Or, a meal-offering}an oblation, as he that offereth swine's blood; he that {Hebrew: maketh a memorial of.}burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations:
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
And he will say, Where are their gods,The rock in which they took refuge;
As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Go ye, serve every one his idols, {Or, but hereafter surely he shall hearken unto me and &c.}and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me; but my holy name shall ye no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.
Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,And drank the wine of their drink-offering?Let them rise up and help you,Let them be your protection.
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods.
and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of {Hebrew: bread.}victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to {Or, portray}worship her, and pour out drink-offerings unto her, without our husbands?
Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people that had given him that answer, saying,
The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not Jehovah remember them, and came it not into his mind?
so that Jehovah could not longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as it is this day.
Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows.