Isaiah 57:20

But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
wicked	וְהָרְשָׁעִ֖ים ve.ha.re.sha.'Im	H7563	morally wrong · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
troubled	נִגְרָ֑שׁ nig.Rash	H1644	to drive out from a possession · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
sea	כַּיָּ֣ם kai.Yam	H3220	a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
cannot	יוּכָ֔ל yu.Khal	H3201	to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
rest	הַשְׁקֵט֙ hash.Ket	H8252	to repose (usually figurative) · verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
waters	מֵימָ֖יו mei.Mav	H4325	water · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
up	וַיִּגְרְשׁ֥וּ vai.yig.re.Shu	H1644	to drive out from a possession · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
mire	רֶ֥פֶשׁ Re.fesh	H7516	mud (as roiled) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
dirt	וָטִֽיט va.Tit	H2916	mud or clay · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 4:16-17 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Isaiah 3:11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Job 18:5-14 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
Job 15:20-24 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Job 20:11-29 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
Psalms 73:18-20 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Jude 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 57:17–end

The body of the people of Israel, in this account of God's dealings with them, is spoken of as a particular person (Isa 57:17, Isa 57:18), but divided into two sorts, differently dealt with - some who were sons of peace, to whom peace is spoken (Isa 57:19), and others who were not, who have nothing to do with peace, Isa 57:20, Isa 57:21. Observe here, I. The just rebukes which that people were brought under for their sin: For the iniquity of his covetousness I was wroth, and smote him. Covetousness was a sin that abounded very much among that people. Jer 6:13, From the least to the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness. Those that did not worship images were yet carried away b…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 57:20

when it cannot rest--rather, "for it can have no rest" (Job 15:20, &c.; Pro 4:16-17). English Version represents the sea as occasionally agitated; but the Hebrew expresses that it can never be at rest.

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 57:19

I create the fruit of the lips - "The sacrifice of praise," saith St. Paul, Heb 13:15, "is the fruit of the lips." God creates this fruit of the lips, by giving new subject and cause of thanksgiving by his mercies conferred on those among his people, who acknowledge and bewail their transgressions, and return to him. The great subject of thanksgiving is peace, reconciliation and pardon, offered to them that are nigh, and to them that are afar off, not only to the Jew, but also to the Gentile, as St. Paul more than once applies those terms, Eph 2:13, Eph 2:17. See also Act 2:39. Peace to him that is far off "That is, to the penitent; and to him that is near, i.e., the righteous." - Kimchi.

John Gill on Isaiah 57:20

But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest,.... Disturbed by winds, storms, and hurricanes, when its waves rise, rage, and tumble about, and beat against the shore and sand, threatening to pass the bounds fixed for it. In such like agitations will the minds of wicked men be, through the terrors of conscience for their sins; or through the malice and envy in them at the happiness and prosperity of the righteous, now enjoyed, upon the downfall of antichrist; and through the judgments of God upon them, gnawing their tongues for pain, and blaspheming the God of heaven, because of their plagues and pains, Revelation 16:9, whose waters cast up mire and dirt; from the bottom of…

The Church Fathers

Some understand this passage specifically about the Savior. But the impious, about whom we have spoken above, he compares to the sea, which can never be at rest, but even in the greatest calm, is tossed with broken waves onto the shores, and its end is mud and trampling.
— Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah

But the wicked are like a boiling sea that cannot rest, and its waves churn up mire and filth. There is no peace, says God, for the wicked. LXX: But the wicked will waver and cannot rest. There is no joy for the wicked, says the Lord God. But the wicked and the unjust will be tossed like a boiling sea and will never be able to rest. Although this can be understood of every wicked person, it is especially applicable to the Jewish people, who with one voice cried out and persisted in their impiety, saying: Crucify him, crucify such a person. We have no king except Caesar (John 19:15). Therefore, just as a boiling sea cannot become calm, but its waves overflow and roll back to the shore, and when broken, they become mud that is trampled by the feet: so the wicked will be subjected to eternal trampling, having no joy and finding no peace in their persistence in wickedness.
— Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Clay — This word is used of sediment found in pits or in streets (Isa. 57:20; Jer. 38:60), of dust mixed with spittle (John 9:6), and of potter’s clay (Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14; Jer. 18:1-6; Rom. 9:21). Clay…
Remorse · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Sea, The · Illustrative: (Trouble,) of the wicked — Illustrative: (Trouble,) of the wicked
Wicked, The, Are Compared To · Troubled sea — Troubled sea

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 57:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 57:17–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 57:20

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 57:19

John Gill on Isaiah 57:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 57:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 57:17–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 57:20

Adam Clarke on Isaiah 57:19

John Gill on Isaiah 57:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 57:20

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 57:19–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 57:20

Rashi on Isaiah 57:20