to lift · conjunction + verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
mountain
הַרhar-
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · noun, common masculine singular absolute
set
שַׂ֖מְתְּsamt
H7760
to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
bed
מִשְׁכָּבֵ֑ךְmish.ka.Vekh
H4904
a bed (figuratively · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
up
עָלִ֖ית'a.Lit
H5927
to ascend · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
offer
לִזְבֹּ֥חַliz.Bo.ach
H2076
to slaughter an animal (usually in sacrifice) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
sacrifice
זָֽבַחZa.vach
H2077
properly · 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
Ezekiel 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things sh…
Ezekiel 23:41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
Jeremiah 2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under eve…
Jeremiah 3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every…
Ezekiel 16:25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that…
Ezekiel 20:28-29 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all th…
Jeremiah 3:2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in t…
Ezekiel 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 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 themselves, they were strongly inclined to be such, and their ancestors were such before them. Sin is sorcery and adultery, for it is departing from God and dealing with the devil. They were children of disobed…
Upon . . . high mountain . . . bed--image from adultery, open and shameless (Eze 23:7); the "bed" answers to the idolatrous altar, the scene of their spiritual unfaithfulness to their divine husband (Eze 16:16, Eze 16:25; Eze 23:41).
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 57:6
Among the smooth stones of the stream "Among the smooth stones of the valley" - The Jews were extremely addicted to the practice of many superstitious and idolatrous rites, which the prophet here inveighs against with great vehemence. Of the worship of rude stones consecrated, there are many testimonials of the ancients. They were called βαιτυλοι and βαιτυλια· probably from the stone which Jacob erected at Beth-el, pouring oil upon the top of it. This practice was very common in different ages and places. Arnobius, lib. i., gives an account of his own practice in this respect before he became a Christian: Si quando conspexeram lubricatum lapidem, et ex olivi unguine sordidatum; tanquam iness…
Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed,.... Temples and altars, which are usually built on high places, where they commit spiritual adultery; that is, idolatry, in imitation of the Heathens, who had their temples and altars on high places; and the idolatry of the church of Rome, in this context, is all along expressed in language agreeable to the Heathen idolatry, and in allusion to it. Some think this phrase denotes impudence in their idolatrous worship; for not content to worship under trees, in valleys, and under clifts of rocks, and such dark places; now, as not blushing at, or being ashamed of their actions, erect their altars in the most public places. Perhaps some refere…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 7.) You have placed your dwelling on a high and lofty mountain, and there you ascended to offer sacrifices. And behind the door and beyond the threshold, you have set up your memorial. The Septuagint says the same. The sacred history tells that on high mountains and hills, the gods of the nations offered sacrifices to Israel, and like a shameless prostitute, spread her legs for all the demons. There was no place that was not polluted by the filth of idolatry, to the extent that they would place idols after the doors of their houses, called domestic Lares, and even shed the blood of their own souls, both publicly and privately. Many cities of various provinces struggle with this error and the worst habit of antiquity: even Rome itself, the mistress of the world, venerates Tutela's image with wax and lamps in each island and house, which they call by that name for the protection of their homes, so that both those entering and exiting their houses are always reminded of their unfamiliarity. The heretics as well, whose hearts are lifted up in pride, and who, despising Ecclesiastical humility, promise themselves lofty things, ascend the highest mountains of their own doctrines, and there they prostitute their couch to demons. And because, according to the Prophet, they turned back, imitating Lot's wife (Gen. XIX), they are transformed into a pillar of salt, having the image of Ecclesiastical condiment, and not having any taste at all: who are thrown out and are useful for nothing, except to be trampled under the feet of all. Therefore, the Lord warns in the Gospel, that whoever holds the plow's handle, should not look back (Luke VIII).
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
Beds · Illustrative: (Made on high,) of carnal security — Illustrative: (Made on high,) of carnal security
Infidelity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
Upon a lofty and high mountain. He again repeats that metaphor at which we have formerly glanced. Superstitious persons commit fornication with their idols, because, by forsaking the simplicity of the word, they violate the bond of that holy marriage into which God has entered with them, and prostitute themselves to Satan. But now Isaiah intended to express something more; for, when he says that they set up their bed on a lofty place, he means that they are not at all ashamed of their shameful conduct. As a harlot, who has lost all shame, dreads not the sight of men, and cares not about her reputation, so they openly and shamefully committed fornication in a lofty and conspicuous place. He c…
The prophet now proceeds with perfects, like שׁפכתּ and העלית (addressed to the national community generally, the congregation regarded as a woman). The description is mostly retrospective. "Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set up thy bed; thou also ascendedst thither to offer slain offerings. And behind the door and the post thou didst place thy reminder: for thou uncoveredst away from me, and ascendedst; thou madest thy bed broad, and didst stipulate for thyself what they had to do: thou lovedst their lying with thee; thou sawest their manhood." The lovers that she sought for herself are the gods of the heathen. Upon lofty mountains, where they are generally worshipped, did she set…
