Isaiah 57:9
in Isaiah 57You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 57
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAnd so the prophet passes from their idolatry to another sin, even their confidence in Heathen princes. Increase - Didst send great quantities. Far off - Into Assyria, which was far from Judea.
This site's exposition
the smooth stones of the stream
on Isaiah 57:6-10
Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion names river-worn stones set up as household gods, a portion chosen in place of the Lord who is Israel's true portion elsewhere in Scripture, and to them a drink offering and a meat offering are poured out. Verse 7's lofty and high mountain and enlarged bed carry the same adultery figure forward into the language of an open affair, the bed itself set up where any passerby could see it, the remembrance behind the doors and the posts marking a household given to a rival. Delitzsch reads verses 9 and 10 as the political extension of the same unfaithfulness, the king courted with ointment and messengers sent far off, an alliance-seeking read against the Assyrian and Egyptian embassies of Isaiah's own day. Wearied in the greatness of thy way, yet never saying there is no hope, closes the unit with a nation too invested in its own effort to admit the effort had failed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 10) In the multitude of your ways you have labored, and you have not said: I will rest. You have found life in your hands, therefore you did not ask me to be silent (Vulgate: you remain silent). LXX: In many journeys you have labored, and you have not said, I will cease: you have made these strengthen. Therefore, you did not ask me. He who walks in one royal path does not labor, as God commanded through Moses: You shall walk in the royal path and you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left (Deuteronomy 5:32). There is one way of truth, which is said in the Gospel: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And there are many paths of lies, through which Jerusalem is now accused of having walked, of which paths God, knowing the difference, speaks above to those who stray: Not like my paths, your paths (Isaiah 55:8), which those confessing say to the Lord: You have made our paths turn aside from your paths (Psalm 44:19). Therefore, having known the one royal way, let us see which paths are on the right and on the left, through which we are prohibited from walking. The middle way is temperance, having neither too much nor too little. For example, prudence is the straight and royal way. We deviate to the right if we know more than we should know, and we value cunning for prudence: because the serpent was wiser than all the beasts in paradise (Genesis 3): And the children of darkness are wiser than the children of light (Luke 16). We turn to the left when we are foolish and know less than is necessary. Of which it is said: The fool has said in his heart, there is no God (Ps. XIII, 1). Piety and true religion are also the royal way. He who is superstitious turns to the right and deserves to hear, Do not be overly righteous (Eccles. VII, 17). To the left, is he who neglects the worship of God and is counted among the goats and the rams. […]
Strength and steadfastness are also the royal road, from which the reckless and stubborn turn aside to the right, the fearful and timid to the left. Therefore, the holy man, desiring to walk on the straight path, prays: Lead me, O Lord, in the straight path (Psalm 139:24). And in another place: Make known to me, O Lord, the way in which I should walk; for I have lifted up my eyes to you (Psalm 142:8). Scripture also speaks about this kind of way in other places: Seek the good way, and walk in it, and you will find the purification of your souls (Jeremiah 6:16). Therefore, Jerusalem was humbled to the depths because it labored in many ways, and did not say, 'I will amend my error through repentance,' but on the contrary, 'I will be strengthened in my beginnings, and I will not heed the judgment of the person who warns me: Turn your foot from the rough way, and your throat from thirst' (Jeremiah 2:25). Finally, it follows: But she replied, 'I will act like a man,' that is, 'I will act bravely,' which is now expressed by another word: 'I will be strengthened.' And because she did these things that the previous discourse narrated, that is why she did not implore the Lord, having more confidence in her own strength rather than in God. Furthermore, the phrase that is placed next to the Hebrew: 'You have found life in your hands,' therefore implies this meaning and understanding: 'Because you have abundance in all things and have become rich, you have neglected the Lord.' These are the riches that even Solomon detests, lest he forget God (Proverbs 30 and 31). And it is said concerning Sodom in Ezekiel: 'Because she was satisfied with bread, she became proud' (Ezekiel 16). Not only wealth, but also poverty tests a person. […]
(Verse 9.) Because you uncovered yourself beside me and took in an adulterer, you spread your bed and made a covenant with them. You loved their bed openly and adorned yourself with royal ointment and multiplied your perfumes. You sent your messengers afar and lowered yourself even to the depths. You thought that if you would depart from me, you would have more. You loved those who slept with you and multiplied your adultery with them, and you made many far from you and sent messengers beyond your borders, and you humbled yourself even to the depths.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, as to eagerness to please, because they adorned themselves: and you have adorned yourself for the king with ointment, and have multiplied your perfumes, that is, using my incense for worshipping them: I have perfumed your bed with incense (Prov 7:17). Third, as to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
How did those shame themselves to the highest degree, and sink themselves to the lowest, that forsook the fountain of life for broken cisterns and the rock of ages for broken reeds! Note, Sinners disparage and debase themselves; the service of sin is an ignominious slavery; and those who thus debase themselves to hell will justly have their portion there.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); but here God shows that those who may expect help from him are such as are destitute of, and set themselves at a distance from, the gaieties of the world and the delights of sense. God's glory appears here very bright, [1.] In his greatness and majesty: He is the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And thou wentest to the king with ointment,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
So "king" means idol (Am 5:26; Zep 1:5); (malcham meaning "king") [ROSENMULLER]. Rather, the king of Assyria or Egypt, and other foreign princes, on whom Israel relied, instead of on God; the "ointment" will thus refer to the presents (Ho 12:1), and perhaps the compliances with foreigners' idolatries, whereby Israel sought to gain their favor [LOWTH] (Isa 30:6;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And thou wentest to the king with ointment “And thou hast visited the king with a present of oil” - That is, the king of Assyria, or Egypt. Hosea, chap, Hos 12:1, reproaches the Israelites for the same practice: - “They make a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt.” It is well known, that in all parts of the east, whoever visits a great person must carry him a present. “It is counted uncivil,” says Maundreg, p. 26, “to visit in this country without an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a tribute due to their character and authority; and look upon themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, when the compliment is omitted.” Hence שור shur, to visit a person, is equivalent to making him a present; and תשורה teshurah signifies a present made on such occasions; as our translators have rightly rendered it, 1Sa 9:7; on which Jarchi says Menachem exponit תשורה teshurah, quod significat oblationem sive manus, ut aliquis aspiciat faciem regis, aut alicuius magnatis. “Menachem expounds תשורה teshurah of an offering or gift which is presented in order to be admitted into the presence of the king or some great man.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And thou wentest to the king - Margin, ‘Respectedst.’ Jerome renders this, ‘Thou hast adorned thyself with royal ointment, and hast multiplied thy painting; and evidently understands it as a continuance of the sentiment in the previous verses as referring to the kind of decoration which harlots used.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With the length of your way you became wearied You engaged in your necessities, in the filling of your lust, to increase your wealth.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Thou hast wearied thyself in the greatness of thy way; yet thou didst not thinks to return the many treasures thou hast multiplied, wherefore thou thoughtest not to repent.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתָּשֻׁ֤רִי | vatashuri | and you journeyed | H7788 → | |
| לַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | lamelekh | to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בַּשֶּׁ֔מֶן | bashemen | with <the> oil | H8081 → | 193 times |
| וַתַּרְבִּ֖י | vatarbi | and you increased | H7235 → | 227 times |
| רִקֻּחָ֑יִךְ | rikuchayikh | perfumes your | H7547 → | |
| וַתְּשַׁלְּחִ֤י | vateshalechi | and you sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| צִרַ֙יךְ֙ | tziraikh | envoys your | H6735 → | 12 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מֵ֣רָחֹ֔ק | merachok | from a distance | H7350 → | 84 times |
| וַתַּשְׁפִּ֖ילִי | vatashpili | and you showed abasement | H8213 → | 31 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שְׁאֽוֹל׃ | sheol | Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
וַתָּשֻׁ֤רִיand you journeyed
vatashuriH7788 →
לַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙to the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בַּשֶּׁ֔מֶןwith <the> oil
bashemenH8081 →193 times
וַתַּרְבִּ֖יand you increased
vatarbiH7235 →227 times
רִקֻּחָ֑יִךְperfumes your
rikuchayikhH7547 →
וַתְּשַׁלְּחִ֤יand you sent
vateshalechiH7971 →845 times
צִרַ֙יךְ֙envoys your
tziraikhH6735 →12 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מֵ֣רָחֹ֔קfrom a distance
merachokH7350 →84 times
וַתַּשְׁפִּ֖ילִיand you showed abasement
vatashpiliH8213 →31 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
שְׁאֽוֹל׃Sheol
sheolH7585 →66 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
Colossians 2:18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual…
it leads to
- Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- 1 John 4:1–2
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Colossians 2:23
Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
- 1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- 1 Timothy 1:7
They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.
- Colossians 2:8
Through
Ezekiel 23:40Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:30
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
- 2 Kings 9:30
Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
- Jeremiah 4:30
Through
Ezekiel 23:16At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:29
So you extended your promiscuity to Chaldea, the land of merchants—but even with this you were not satisfied!
- Ezekiel 16:29
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.