Isaiah 57:1-2 Exposition on Righteous and Wicked Fate
Isaiah 57:1-2 Exposition on Righteous and Wicked Fate
Isaiah 57:1-2 (NASB) reads: "The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; and devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, he enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walked in his upright way." These verses open a prophetic lament addressing the death of the godly in a corrupt society, a theme that reverberates through the chapter's broader indictment of idolatry and national apostasy.
Literary Context and Historical Setting
The passage stands at the threshold of Isaiah 57, which divides sharply between the fate of the righteous (verses 1-2) and the condemnation of the wicked (verses 3-13). The preceding chapter, Isaiah 56, closes with scathing criticism of Israel's leaders—blind watchmen, greedy shepherds who "turn to their own way" (56:10-12). The prophet then pivots to observe that while the wicked indulge themselves, the righteous are dying and no one notices [6, 7]. This juxtaposition underscores the spiritual insensitivity of the nation: the removal of godly persons, which should signal impending judgment, passes unheeded [9].
Historically, the passage reflects a period when Judah's leadership had grown corrupt and idolatrous. The mention of "evil to come" (57:1) points to divine judgment looming over the nation, from which God mercifully removes the righteous before its arrival [3]. Rabbinic tradition in the Babylonian Talmud connects this verse to the wicked who say, "Come, I will fetch wine... and tomorrow shall be as this day" (Isaiah 56:12), contrasting their complacency with the righteous who perish unnoticed [4, 5]. The Targum Jonathan renders the verse: "The righteous are taken away on account of the evil which shall come" [8], making explicit what the Hebrew text implies.
Key Exegetical Decisions
The phrase "no man takes it to heart" (verse 1) carries the force of willful neglect. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown note that the death of the righteous should be mourned "as a public calamity," yet "none considering" what Providence intends by their removal [9]. The Hebrew construction suggests not mere ignorance but deliberate failure to reflect on the moral state of the nation [2]. The "merciful men" (KJV) or "devout men" are better understood as "godly men"—those who are themselves recipients of divine mercy, not merely dispensers of it [9].
Verse 2 introduces the interpretive crux: "he enters into peace; they rest in their beds." The imagery of rest evokes burial customs (compare 2 Chronicles 16:14 [1]), but the theological weight lies in the contrast between earthly turmoil and eschatological rest. The righteous are "taken away from evil"—literally, "from the face of the evil"—indicating both removal from the moral corruption surrounding them and protection from coming judgment [9]. Tyndale House observes that "God allows the godly to die in order to protect them from harsher times to come" [3], a theme echoed in 2 Kings 22:20, where Josiah is promised he will be "gathered to [his] grave in peace" before disaster strikes [2].
Range of Interpretations
Traditional Christian interpretation has read these verses as affirming the blessedness of the righteous in death. Cross-references to Luke 2:29 ("Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace") and Philippians 1:23 ("to depart and be with Christ") suggest continuity between Isaiah's vision and New Testament eschatology [1]. The "rest in their beds" language parallels Jesus' parable of Lazarus carried by angels to Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22 [1]), reinforcing the idea that death for the upright is entrance into divine rest, not annihilation.
Jewish exegesis, particularly in the Talmudic passages, emphasizes the prophetic warning embedded in the righteous person's death. The removal of the godly serves as a harbinger: when the righteous perish and society remains indifferent, catastrophe is imminent [4, 5]. This reading aligns with the broader prophetic tradition where the death of a righteous king (1 Kings 14:13 [2]) or the scarcity of godly people (Psalms 12:1 [2]) signals divine displeasure.
Theological Function in Tradition
Isaiah 57:1-2 has functioned liturgically and theologically as a theodicy text, addressing why the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper. The passage reframes premature death not as divine abandonment but as merciful deliverance. Adam Clarke introduces the chapter by noting that "the removal of righteous persons" is "an awful symptom of the approach of Divine judgments" [6], a perspective that shaped Reformed and Puritan preaching on national sin and divine warning signs.
The verses also counter the prosperity theology implicit in Isaiah 56:12, where the wicked assume continuity and abundance. By placing the righteous person's peaceful death immediately after the drunkards' boast, the prophet subverts the assumption that longevity and comfort indicate divine favor. Instead, the righteous "walk in uprightness" and find rest, while the wicked face the turbulence described in verse 20: "like the tossing sea... whose waters toss up mire and dirt."
Sources
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Isaiah 57:2 cross-references: Genesis 17:1, 2 Chronicles 16:14, Job 3:17, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Isaiah 14:18, Isaiah 26:7, Jeremiah 6:16, Ezekiel 32:25, Matthew 25:21, Luke 1:6, Luke 2:29, Luke 7:50, Luke 16:22, 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, Revelation 14:13”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Isaiah 57:1 cross-references: 1 Kings 14:13, 2 Kings 22:20, 2 Chronicles 32:33, 2 Chronicles 34:28, 2 Chronicles 35:24, Psalms 12:1, Isaiah 42:25, Isaiah 47:7, Isaiah 57:11, Micah 7:2, Malachi 2:2”
- Isaiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Isaiah 57:1: 57:1-2 This is a lament for the righteous who suffer in a wicked society. 57:1 the evil to come: Judgment that would come on the wicked nations. • protecting them: At times, God allows the godly to die in order to protect them from harsher times to come.”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 11a.7: The baraita comments: Up to this point is the attribute of middling people, who merely exclude themselves from the suffering of the community. However, with regard to the attribute of wicked people, what is written about those who hope for more of these days? “Come, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant” (Isaiah 56:12). And what is written afterward? “The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart, and godly men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken ”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 62a.21:7: The baraita comments: Up to this point is the attribute of middling people, who merely exclude themselves from the suffering of the community. However, with regard to the attribute of wicked people, what is written about those who hope for more of these days? “Come, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant” (Isaiah 56:12). And what is written afterward? “The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart, and godly men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is tak”
- Isaiah (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Isaiah 57 (introduction): After mentioning the removal of righteous persons as an awful symptom of the approach of Divine judgments, Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2, the prophet goes on to charge the nation in general with idolatry, and with courting the unprofitable alliance of idolatrous kings, Isa 57:3-12. In opposition to such vain confidence, the prophet enjoins trust in God, with whom the penitent and humble are sure to find acceptance, and from whom they should obtain temporal and spiritual deliverances, Isa 57:13-19. Awful condition of the wicked and finally impenitent, Isa 57:20, Is”
- Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 57 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 57 This chapter contains complaints of the stupidity and idolatry of the people, described in the latter part of the preceding chapter; and some promises of grace to the people of God. The stupidity of the former is observed, Isa 57:1 they not taking notice of the death of good men, nor of impending calamities they were taken from, whose happiness is described, Isa 57:2, then these idolatrous people are summoned before the Lord, Isa 57:3 and are charged with deriding the saints with idolatry and murder, Isa 57:4 and their idolatry”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 57:1: The righteous die, and no man layeth my fear to heart; and the men who shew mercy are taken away, and they consider not that the righteous are taken away on account of the evil which shall come.”
- Isaiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Isaiah 57 (introduction): THE PEACEFUL DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS FEW: THE UNGODLINESS OF THE MANY: A BELIEVING REMNANT SHALL SURVIVE THE GENERAL JUDGMENTS OF THE NATION, AND BE RESTORED BY HIM WHO CREATES PEACE. (Isa. 57:1-21) 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 pu”