Isaiah 57:12

Isa 57:12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.

Ver. 12. I will declare thy righteousness,] i.e., Thine unrighteousness, by an irony; {a} or, Thy righteousness secundum dici, non secundum esse, thine hypocrisy.

For they shall not profit thee.] Nay, they shall undo thee.

{a} Antiphrasis ironica.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12, 13. About the whole case only words of irony can be suitable. These we have in Isa_57:12, etc.

I will declare thy righteousness — Israel’s righteousness was more than profitless — it was outrageous impiety. To idolaters the earlier words in Isa_57:13 are fearfully taunting.

When thou criest — That is, for help.

Let thy companies deliver thee — Resort to your throngs of idols. Go to your allies. Nevertheless, wind and confusion shall follow. Your protector shall be like houses or dwellings when tornadoes sweep them away. However, tornadoes are not needed.

Vanity shall take them — Lowth and Noyes translate, “A breath shall take them off.” But in Isa_57:13 the humble pious are remembered. To possess the land and to inherit God’s holy mountain, is to possess what covers the richest of blessings — generally, gospel blessings.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

57:12 The Lord did not consider the people’s so-called good deeds (literally righteousness; see 59:16) to be truly righteous.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, thy naughtiness, idolatries, and impieties which the wicked call God’s service: thus he derideth their obstinacy.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

declare--I will expose publicly thy (hypocritical) righteousness. I will show openly how vain thy works, in having recourse to idols, or foreign alliances, shall prove (Isa 57:3).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. Thy righteousness - "My righteousness"] For צדקתך tsidkathech, THY righteousness, the Syriac, Septuagint, MSS. Alex. and Pachom., and I. D. II., and Marchal. and οἱ Γ, and the Arabic, read צדקי tsidki, MY righteousness.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(12) I will declare thy righteousness . . .—Accepting the Hebrew text, we must look on the word as used ironically, the righteousness which is no righteousness. Comp. Isa_64:6. A slight alteration, adopted by many critics, gives “my righteousness.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12, 13. But Jehovah will no longer be silent; He will proceed to judgement (cf. again Psa_50:21).

I will declare thy righteousness] must be spoken ironically: “I will expose thy (pretended) righteousness.” This might be said of the Samaritans, who claimed to be true worshippers of Jehovah just as ancient Israel had always done (Ezr_4:2).

and thy works, &c.] Render with R.V. and as for thy works, they shall not profit thee.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works,.... For, notwithstanding all the idolatry, superstition, irreligion, and cruelty of the church of Rome, she makes large pretences to righteousness, by which she expects to be justified, and to merit eternal life, and even pretends to works of supererogation; but God will in due time make it clearly appear, both by the ministry of his faithful servants, which he has done in part already; and by his judgments that he will execute, that she has no righteousness; that what she calls so is no righteousness, but wickedness; and that her works she calls good works are bad ones, superstitious, idolatrous, and tyrannical:

for they shall not profit thee; secure from judgment here, or from wrath to come; nor justify before God, nor procure salvation and eternal life; but, on the contrary, shall bring deserved ruin and destruction, here and hereafter.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I will declare thy righteousness - This is evidently spoken ironically. The sense is, ‘you have devoted yourselves to idols, and you have sought the aid of foreigners. I will now announce to you the true nature of the deliverance which they can bring to you.’ This is done in the following verse.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Justice. He speaks ironically. (Calmet) --- Self-righteousness is vicious. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I will declare; I will no longer be silent and patient towards thee.

Thy righteousness and thy works; which may be put for the righteousness of thy works, by that known figure, of which See Poole "Isa 57:8", whereby he means their wickedness, which he calleth their

righteousness, either ironically, or because it was covered with a pretence of righteousness, and they alleged that this was a just and lawful thing, when they were distressed to seek for help from their neighbours or allies. The sense is, I will discover whether thy works be righteous, as thou pretendest they are; my punishments shall manifest the wickedness of thy actions.

They shall not profit thee; these actions shall do thee no good, but much hurt.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I will declare thy righteousness, etc. The Syriac Version has "my righteousness," which gives a much better sense, and is adopted by Bishop Lowth, Dr. Weir, and Mr. Cheyne. God will be silent no longer. He will" declare," or show forth, "his righteousness," by visiting Judah with some righteous punishment. Then it will be seen of what value are those things in which Judah has hitherto trusted. Her works whether her "idols" are meant (Cheyne, Delitzsch), or her "deeds of iniquity" (Kay) what will they profit? She will "cry" out under the rod of chastisement cry to her false gods to save her.

Vers. 12, 13. The fate of folly and the reward of wisdom.

The Divine One whom Israel has so grievously wronged (vers. 4-9) intimates (ver. 12) that he will make known to his people the results of their apostasy from him; he will tell them "how unprofitable are their works," how suicidal is their policy; he will tell them also how great is the reward of the wise of those who abide in his service.

I THE BITTER FATE OF THE UNGODLY. Departing from God, they have no resort but that which they find in their own poor divinities, in those "heaps of idols" whose power is blown away with the first breath of adversity; they may cry to these wretched images, but they will meet with no response. This will prove the portion of the ungodly. in every age: the powers to which, in God"s absence, they have recourse will fail them utterly in their time of need; they may be numerous, they may be "companies," they may be highly esteemed, but they will certainly tail when the hour of trial arrives. Worldly wealth, a great reputation, troops of friends, high social position, varied attainments, strength of bodily constitution, any one or all of these, or other resources besides these, may be possessed, but they will ignominiously fail in the hour of supreme necessity; they will not, for they cannot, deliver a human soul in its deepest troubles, in its darkest hours; they will be as impotent as "the chaff which the wind driveth away." "Vain things for safety" are they all. The soul of man has wants which strike deeper and which rise higher than any of them can reach.

II THE BLESSED HERITAGE OF THE GODLY. "He that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land." To him may come, will come, hours of darkness, of loss, of trial; but he has a stay and a resource in God his Father, in Jesus Christ his unfailing Friend, which will make him blessed at every point of his pilgrimage, in every stage of his career. For him will be:

1. The rest of heart which comes with a consciousness of spiritual integrity.

2. Growth in all that is good and wise.

3. The happiness of heart which is found in the worship of God: "He shall inherit my holy mountain.

4. The joy of sacred service, of rendering succour, of imparting strength to the weak and comfort to the sad, of rescuing and reinstating the fallen and despairing.

5. The hope of the heavenly inheritance. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But this silence would not last for ever. "I will proclaim thy righteousness; and thy works, they will not profit thee. When thou criest, let thy heaps of idols save thee: but a wind carries them all away; a breath takes them off; and whoever putteth trust in me will inherit the land, and take possession of my holy mountain." According to the context, צדקתך cannot be a synonym of ישׁוּעה f here. It is neither salvation nor the way of salvation that is intended; nor is this even included, as Stier supposes. But the simple reference is to what Israel in its blindness regarded as righteousness; whereas, if it had known itself, it would have seen that it was the most glaring opposite. This lying-righteousness of Israel would be brought to a judicial exposure by Jehovah. ואת־מעשׂיך is not a second accusative to אגּיד, for in that case we should have ומעשׂיך את־צדקתך; but it commences a second sentence, as the accents really indicate. When Jehovah begins thus to speak and act, the impotence of the false gods which His people have made for themselves will soon be exposed; and "as for thy works (i.e., thine idols, Isa 41:29, cf., Isa 1:31), they will do thee no good" (Isa 44:9-10, compare Jer 23:33; for the question מה־משׂא), here an empatic elevation of the subject, compare Isa 53:8, ואת־דורו, Ewald, 277, p. 683). This determines the meaning of קבּוּציך, which Knobel supposes to refer to the large army of the Babylonians, with which the apostates among the exiles had formed an offensive and defensive alliance. But the term is really applied to the heaps (qibbūts, collectio, not an adjective of the form limmūd) of different idols, with which Israel had furnished itself even in its captivity (compare qibbâtsâh in Mic 1:7). It was in vain for them to turn to these pantheons of theirs; a single rūăch would carry them all away, a hebhel would sweep them off, for they themselves were nothing but hebhel and rūăch (Isa 41:29). The proper punctuation here is יקּח־הבל; the first syllable of יקח, which is attached to a word with a disjunctive accent, has a so-called heavy Gaya, the second a euphonic Gaya, according to rules which are too little discussed in our grammars. When Knobel supports his explanation of קבוציך on the ground that the idols in Isa 57:13 and the worshippers of Jehovah in Isa 57:13 do not form a fitting antithesis, the simple reply is, that the contrast lies between the idols, which cannot save, and Jehovah, who not only saves those who trust in Him, but sends them prosperity according to His promises. With the promise, "Whoso trusts in me will inherit the land," this prophecy reaches the thought with which the previous prophecy (Isa 51:7-8) closed; and possibly what is here affirmed of קבּוּציך forms an intentional antithesis to the promise there, לנקבּציו עליו אקבּץ עוד: when Jehovah gathers His faithful ones from the dispersion, and gathers others to them (from among the heathen), then will the plunder which the faithless have gathered together be all scattered to the winds. And whilst the latter stand forsaken by their powerless works, the former will be established in the peaceful inheritance of the promised land. The first half of the prophecy closes here. It is full of reproach, and closes with a brief word of promise, which is merely the obverse of the threat. The second half follows an opposite course. Jehovah will redeem His people, provided it has been truly humbled by the sufferings appointed, for He has seen into what errors it has fallen since He has withdrawn His mercy from it. "But the wicked," etc. The whole closes here with words of threatening, which are the obverse of the promise. Isa 57:13 forms the transition from the first half to the second.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

“I will declare thy righteousness and thy works, and they shall not profit (or avail) thee.” The earlier writers make the first clause ironical; but this is unnecessary, as the simplest and most obvious construction is in all respects the most satisfactory. ‘I will declare thy righteousness’, (i.e., I will show clearly whether thou art righteous), and in order to do this I must declare thy works; and if this is done, they cannot profit thee, because instead of justifying they will condemn thee.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I tell your righteousness Constantly, I tell you things to do, so that you will be righteous.

and your deeds that you do against My will shall not avail you at the time of your distress.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

צדקתך Thy righteousness in words.

And thy works they shall not profit thee, because they are bad; thou hast trusted to others beside me.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.