Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 57

Verse 1

Isaiah 57:1

57:1–2 This is a lament for the righteous who suffer in a wicked society. - New Living Translation Study Bible.

57:1–2 A Righteous Generation Quietly Disappears. - NIV Zondervan Study Bible:

57:1–2 The righteous man perishes. Isaiah sees a trend toward fewer righteous people, yet no one lays it to heart, i.e., the masses of people generally do not understand that this indicates a withdrawal of God’s blessing. In such a troubled time, for the righteous, death is a mercy, for he enters into peace (cf. 2 Kings 22:20; Revelation 14:13). - The ESV Study Bible (p. 1344).

57:1, 2 In contrast to the evil leaders, who were engaged in debauchery and self-indulgence, were the righteous who were removed from impending divine judgments. The righteous do suffer by oppression and distress at what is going on around them, but they die in faith and enjoy their eternal reward. - The MacArthur Study Bible (p. 1042).

57:1–2. The society then was so bad that the righteous people in Israel (also called devout and those who walk uprightly) had to die in order to find peace. Observing the evil all around apparently frustrated them. They could do nothing to turn the nation back to the Lord. The only way the righteous could be spared from such frustration was to die. - The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1112).

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The righteous man perishes ... The Hebrew word for "perishes" here may indicates a violent death (persecution, murder, etc) the context certainly implies a premature death.

Meciful men ... godly men, or pious men (Micah 7:2)

taken away ... "gathered to their fathers," Pulpit Com. ;

CEV = "dragged off an killed"

away from evil ... out of the way of the evil.

At times, God allows the godly to die in order to protect them from harsher times to come. - New Living Translation Study Bible.

And no man layeth it to heart ... No one is aroused by it, or is concerned about it. No one considers it a public calamity.

Utley says of Isaiah 57:1 Evil triumphs when the righteous are persecuted and murdered, and no one seems to care!

In the midst of all the sin and oppression, the righteous are swept away by persecution. From the human standpoint no one cares. But God cares—He delivers the godly from evil and ushers them into peace and rest. Believers’ Bible Com

Isaiah 57:2 This verse describes the spiritual condition of the righteous man. Utley

57:2 The righteous person entered a condition of peace by dying and going to his or her eternal reward. The end of the righteous, then, contrasts with that of the wicked leaders (56:9–12). - Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Is 57:2).

Verse 2

Isaiah 57:2

Isaiah 57:2 This verse describes the spiritual condition of the righteous man. Utley

57:2 The righteous person entered a condition of peace by dying and going to his or her eternal reward. The end of the righteous, then, contrasts with that of the wicked leaders (Isaiah 56:9-12). - Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Is 57:2).