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57. God's Accusation Against Wicked

¹ 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.
² Those who walk uprightly
   enter into peace;
   they find rest as they lie in death.

    ³ “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,
   you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
⁴ Who are you mocking?
   At whom do you sneer
   and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,
   the offspring of liars?
⁵ You burn with lust among the oaks
   and under every spreading tree;
you sacrifice your children in the ravines
   and under the overhanging crags.
⁶ The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
   indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings
   and offered grain offerings.
   In view of all this, should I relent?
⁷ You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;
   there you went up to offer your sacrifices.
⁸ Behind your doors and your doorposts
   you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
   you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,
   and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.
⁹ You went to Molek Or to the king with olive oil
   and increased your perfumes.
You sent your ambassadors Or idols far away;
   you descended to the very realm of the dead!
¹⁰ You wearied yourself by such going about,
   but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’
You found renewal of your strength,
   and so you did not faint.

    ¹¹ “Whom have you so dreaded and feared
   that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered me
   nor taken this to heart?
Is it not because I have long been silent
   that you do not fear me?
¹² I will expose your righteousness and your works,
   and they will not benefit you.
¹³ When you cry out for help,
   let your collection of idols save you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
   a mere breath will blow them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me
   will inherit the land
   and possess my holy mountain.”

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴ And it will be said:

   “Build up, build up, prepare the road!
   Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”
¹⁵ For this is what the high and exalted One says—
   he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
   but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
   and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ I will not accuse them forever,
   nor will I always be angry,
for then they would faint away because of me—
   the very people I have created.
¹⁷ I was enraged by their sinful greed;
   I punished them, and hid my face in anger,
   yet they kept on in their willful ways.
¹⁸ I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
   I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,
    ¹⁹ creating praise on their lips.
Peace, peace, to those far and near,”
   says the LORD. “And I will heal them.”
²⁰ 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.”

20. But the wicked. Having formerly spoken of the “peace” which good men shall enjoy, he threatens that the wicked, on the contrary, shall have continual war and incessant uneasiness and distress of heart; in order that good men may value more highly the excellent blessing of “peace,” and next, that the reprobate may know that their condition shall in no degree be improved in consequence of that peace which is promised to the children of God. But because the reprobate make false pretensions to the name of God, and vainly glory in it, the Prophet shows that there is no reason why they should flatter themselves, or advance any claim, on the ground of this promise, since they can have no share in this peace. Nor will it avail them anything, that God, having compassion upon his people, receives them into favor, and commands peace to be proclaimed to them.

As the troubled sea. That metaphor of “the sea” is elegant and very well fitted to describe the uneasiness of the wicked; for of itself “the sea is troubled.” Though it be not beaten by the wind or agitated by frightful tempests, its billows carry on mutual war, and dash against each other with terrible violence. In the same manner wicked men are “troubled” by inward distress, which is deeply seated in their hearts. They are terrified and alarmed by conscience, which is the most agonizing of all torments and the most cruel of all executioners. The furies agitate and pursue the wicked, not with burning torches, (as the fables run,)but with anguish of conscience and the torment of wickedness; for every one is distressed by his own wickedness and his own alarm; ¹¹⁷¹¹⁷ “Et gehenne.” “And by the hell within him.” every one is agonized and driven to madness by his own guilt; they are terrified by their own evil thoughts and by the pangs of conscience. Most appropriately, therefore, has the Prophet compared them to a stormy and troubled sea. Whoever then wishes to avoid these alarms and this frightful agony of heart, let him not reject that peace which the Lord offers to him. There can be no middle course between them; for, if you do not lay aside sinful desires and accept of this peace, you must unavoidably be miserably distressed and tormented.