Isaiah 57:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 57:3-12

We have here a high charge, but a just one no doubt, drawn up against that wicked generation out of which God's righteous ones were removed, because the world was not worthy of them. Observe, I. The general character here given of them, or the name and title by which they stand indicted, Isa. 57:3. They are told to draw near and hear the charge, are set to the bar, and arraigned there as sons of the sorceress, or of a witch, the seed of an adulterer and a whore, that is, they were such... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 57:4

Against whom do ye sport yourselves ?.... Is it against the ministers of the Gospel, the prophets of the Lord, the true and faithful witnesses, over whose dead bodies you triumph? know that it is not so much against them, as against the Lord himself, whose ministers, prophets, and witnesses they are; see 1 Thessalonians 4:8 , "against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue?" gestures used by way of scorn and derision; see Psalm 22:7 . So the Papists open their mouths, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 57:3-10

Pictures of idolatry. The idolaters are summoned to hear the judgment upon them. They are characterized as "sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer." The source of all idolatry is unfaithfulness to God regarded as the Husband of his people ( Ezekiel 16:44 , Ezekiel 16:45 ). Yet, in their pride, these idolaters make sport of and scoff at the true servants of God. I. THE RITES OF IDOLATRY . There were enthusiastic orgies in the sacred groves of oak and in the gardens ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 57:3-14

ISRAEL SEVERELY REBUKED FOR IDOLATRY . Though Hezekiah had made a great reformation of religion when he ascended the throne( 2 Kings 18:4 ; 2 Chronicles 29:3-19 ), and had done his best to put down idolatry, yet it was still dear to large numbers among the people, and was easily revived by Manasseh in the earlier portion of his reign ( 2 Chronicles 33:2-9 ). Isaiah now rebukes various kinds of idolatrous practices, and shows the vanity of them. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 57:4

Against whom do ye sport yourselves? The idolatrous Israelites here addressed, no doubt, made a mock of the few righteous who were still living among them, and vexed their souls, as his fellow-towns-men did the soul of "just Lot" ( 2 Peter 2:7 ). They "made wide the mouth" at them, and "drew out the tongue" in derision (comp. Psalms 22:7 ; Psalms 35:21 ). The prophet asks, "Against whom do ye do this? Is it not rather against God, whose servants these men are, than against them?" Are ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 57:4

Insult of good men is insult of God. "The righteous dies, and is at rest; but ye, what will ye make at last of your derision of the righteous, and of the follies and idolatries wherein ye trust? Nothing." Matthew Henry says, "Mocking the messengers of the Lord was Jerusalem's measure-filling sin; for what was done to them God took as done to himself. When they were reproved for their sins, and threatened with the judgments of God, they ridiculed the Word of God with the rudest and most... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 57:4

Against whom do ye sport yourselves? - The word here rendered ‘sport’ (ענג ‛ānag) means properly “to live delicately and tenderly”; then “to rejoice, to take pleasure or delight.” Here, however, it is evidently used in the sense of to sport oneself over anyone, that is, to deride; and the idea is, probably, that they made a sport or mockery of God, and of the institutions of religion. The prophet asks, with deep indignation and emotion, against whom they did this. Were they aware of the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 57:3-4

Isaiah 57:3-4. But draw near hither, &c. “The prophet proceeds to exhibit the church, totally corrupt as it was, the good men being extinct or dispersed; so that they who remained of the pure seed of the church lay hid in solitary places, while the body of the church appeared like a dead carcass; not the true, but the idolatrous church.” Thus Vitringa, who understands this paragraph as describing the state of the church in the dark ages of popery. It seems, however, by many of the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 57:1-21

Corruption and idolatry (56:9-57:21)The Assyrian captivity of the northerners and the Babylonian captivity of the southerners did not include the whole populations. Those who were of no use to the conquerors were left behind, along with scattered country people who escaped the enemy. These and their descendants soon followed the old religious practices of the Canaanite people. They worshipped idols, offered human sacrifices to the god Molech, and practised fertility rites with religious... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 57:4

children = offspring. transgression: i.e. inborn transgression. Hebrew. pasha '. App-44 . seed of falsehood = false seed. Figure of speech Enallage. read more

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