Isaiah 57:1
in Isaiah 57The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 57
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart
on Isaiah 57:1-2
“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart”, and the verse gives the reason: “the righteous are guided from the presence of evil”. The early death of a good man is a rescue before the judgment comes. Verse 2 speaks of the grave as rest.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
He foretells here the cross of the Master; for he calls the Master Christ "righteous," he who committed no sin and in whose mouth no deceit was found.… "His grave shall be in peace." For the righteous has been removed out of the way of …
(Chapter 57, Verses 1-2) The righteous perish, and there is no one who takes it to heart; the men of mercy are gathered, but there is no one who understands; for the righteous is taken away from the face of evil. Let peace come; let him rest in his bed who walks in his integrity. Look, how the righteous perishes, and no one takes it to heart; the upright are taken away, and no one considers. For the righteous is taken away from the presence of iniquity; his burial will be in peace; he is taken away from among us.
The Medieval Church2 voices
The just perishes. Here he shows the difference between those who obey divine counsels and those who do not obey, as to deliverance from dangers. And first, he assigns the difference, second, he sets out the confirmation of each part: but he that puts his …
The malice and wickedness of them that remain behind in the world deserveth that those should quickly be taken away, who by their life might much help us: and for as much as the world draweth towards an end, God's chosen servants are taken out of it, that they fall not into more wicked times: and therefore from hence it cometh that the prophet saith: "The just man doth perish, and there is none that doth ponder it in his heart: and men of mercy are gathered together, because there is none that hath understanding." And yet do I not think that all God's elect servants are so taken out of the world, that none but the wicked remain behind: for sinners would never be converted to the sorrow of true penance, if they had not the examples of some good people to provoke them forward.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The providence of God removing good men apace out of this world. The righteous, as to this world, perish; they are gone and their place knows them no more. Piety exempts none from the arrests of death, nay, in persecuting times, the most righteous are most exposed to the violences of bloody men.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The righteous perisheth,....
Upon the gross idolatries and spiritual whoredoms which the Jews were guilty of, and the destroying judgments they were thereby bringing upon themselves,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
no man layeth it to heart--as a public calamity. merciful men--rather, godly men; the subjects of mercy. none considering--namely, what was the design of Providence in removing the godly. from the evil--Hebrew, from the face of the evil, that is, both from the moral evil on every side (Isa 56:10-12), and from the evils about to come in punishment of the national sins, foreign invasions, &c.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The righteous perisheth - הצדק אבד hatstsadik abad. There is an emphasis here which seems intended to point out a particular person. See below. Perisheth - As the root אבד abad signifies the straying of cattle, their passing away from one pasture to another, I feel inclined to follow the grammatical meaning of the word “perish,” pereo. So the Vulgate, justus periit, from per, By or Through, and eo, to Go. In his death the righteous man may be said to have passed through life, and to have passed by men, i.e., gone or passed before them into the eternal world. A similar mode of speech is used by our Saxon ancestors to express death: he went out of sight; and he went away; and to fare forth, to die. There are very few places in Isaiah where Jesus Christ is not intended; and I am inclined to think that He is intended here, That Just One; and perhaps Stephen had this place in view, when he thus charged the Jews, “Ye denied τον ἁγιον και δικαιον, that Holy and Just One,” Act 3:14. That his death was not laid to heart by the wicked Jewish people, needs no proof. Merciful men - If the first refers to Christ, this may well refer to the apostles. and to others of the primitive Christians, who were taken away, some by death and martyrdom, and others by a providential escape from the city that they knew was devoted to destruction. The evil to come - That destruction which was to come upon this disobedient people by the Romans.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַצַּדִּ֣יק | hatzadik | the righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| אָבָ֔ד | ʾavad | he has perished | H6 → | 184 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | [is] anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| שָׂ֣ם | sam | [who] puts | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לֵ֑ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְאַנְשֵׁי־ | veanshei- | and people of | H582 → | 566 times |
| חֶ֤סֶד | chesed | loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| נֶֽאֱסָפִים֙ | neesafim | [are] being removed | H622 → | 200 times |
| בְּאֵ֣ין | beein | when there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מֵבִ֔ין | mevin | [is one who] understands | H995 → | 170 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֥י | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָרָעָ֖ה | haraah | <the> evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| נֶאֱסַ֥ף | neesaf | he is removed | H622 → | 200 times |
| הַצַּדִּֽיק׃ | hatzadik | the righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
הַצַּדִּ֣יקthe righteous [person]
hatzadikH6662 →206 times
אָבָ֔דhe has perished
ʾavadH6 →184 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
אִ֖ישׁ[is] anyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
שָׂ֣ם[who] puts
samH7760 →584 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לֵ֑בheart
levH3820 →595 times
וְאַנְשֵׁי־and people of
veanshei-H582 →566 times
חֶ֤סֶדloyalty
chesedH2617 →247 times
נֶֽאֱסָפִים֙[are] being removed
neesafimH622 →200 times
בְּאֵ֣יןwhen there not
beeinH369 →789 times
מֵבִ֔ין[is one who] understands
mevinH995 →170 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִפְּנֵ֥יfrom before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
הָרָעָ֖ה<the> evil
haraahH7451 →662 times
נֶאֱסַ֥ףhe is removed
neesafH622 →200 times
הַצַּדִּֽיק׃the righteous [person]
hatzadikH6662 →206 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 22:20‘Therefore I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.’”…
it leads to
- Psalms 37:37
Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 57:1–2
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 37:37
Through
Psalms 12:1Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:12
Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
- Jeremiah 5:1
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I…
- Isaiah 59:13–15
rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Isaiah 1:21–22
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!
- Psalms 6:1
O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
- Matthew 24:12
Through
Micah 7:2The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
it leads to
- Psalms 12:1
Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
- Psalms 12:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Dialogues, Book 3, Chapter 37; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 18:57.1-2 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.