Israel’s Futile Idolatry

¹ 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.
² He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
³ “ But come here,
You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
⁴ Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
⁵ Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree,
Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
⁶ Among the smooth stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in these?
⁷ “ On a lofty and high mountain
You have set your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
⁸ Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And made a covenant with them;
You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their nudity.^[a]
9 You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
¹⁰ You are wearied in the length of your way;
Yetyou did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
¹¹ “ And of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because I have held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
¹² I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
¹³ When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”

Healing for the Backslider

¹⁴ And one shall say,

“ Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
¹⁵ For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“ I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has 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 forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls which I have made.
¹⁷ For the iniquity of his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
I hid and was angry,
And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
¹⁸ I have seen his ways, and will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to his mourners.
¹⁹ “ I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says 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,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”