The Lantern

Isaiah57

The righteous one, hath perished, And not a man, hath taken it to heart—Yea the men of lovingkindness, have been withdrawn No one considering, That from the presence of calamity, hath the righteous been withdrawn.

He entereth into peace, Let them rest upon their couches,—Each one who went on a straight path.

But, ye, …draw near hither, Ye sons of divination,—Ye seed of an adulterer when your mother committed unchastity!

Against whom would ye disport yourselves? Against whom would ye widen the mouth and lengthen the tongue,—Are not, ye, Children of transgression, A Seed of falsehood.

Who inflame yourselves With the terebinths, Under every green tree—Slaying the children, In the torrent-valleys, Under the clefts of the crags:

Among the smooth stones of the torrent—valley, is thy portion. They, they, are thy lot; Even to them, hast thou Poured out a drink-offering. Caused to ascend a gift. Over these things, can I cease to grieve?

On a mountain high and uplifted, hast thou set thy couch,—Even thither, hast thou gone up, to offer sacrifice;

And behind the door and the post, hast thou set thy symbol, For, with another than me, hast thou uncovered thyself and gone up—Hast widened thy couch, And hast solemnised for thyself a covenant from them, Thou hast loved their couch a sign, hast thou seen;

And hast gone to the king with oil, And hast multiplied thy perfumes,—And hast sent thy messengers afar, And…lowered thyself as far as hades!

With the length of thy journey, thou wast wearied, Thou didst not say, Hopeless! The reviving of thy power, thou didst find, For this cause, hast thou not become sick.

Whom then hadst thou been anxious about and feared that thou shouldest speak falsely, When me, thou rememberedst not, caredst not for me? Did not, I, keep silence even from age-past times, Although me, thou wouldest not fear?

I, will expose thy righteousness,—And thy works—but they will not profit thee!

When thou makest outcry, let thy gathered throngs deliver thee! But all of them, shall A wind, catch up—A breath, take away! Whereas he that seeketh refuge in me, Shall inherit the land, And possess my holy mountain.

And one said—Cast ye up—cast ye up, prepare ye a way,—Lift the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.

For, thus, saith he that is high and lifted up—Inhabiting futurity, And, holy, is his name: A high and holy place, will I inhabit, Also with the crushed and lowly in spirit, To revive the spirit of the lowly, and To revive the heart of them who are crushed;—

For not age-abidingly, will I contend, Nor perpetually, will I be wroth,—For, spirit, before me, would faint, Even the breathing souls, which, I, had made.

Because of his iniquitous gain, was I wroth—and smote him Hiding myself that I might be wroth,—But he went on turning aside in the way of his own heart.

His ways, have I beheld, That I might heal him,—And guide him, And restore consolations to him and to his mourners:

Creating the fruit of the lips—Prosperity! Prosperity! For him that is far off and for him that is near saith Yahweh, So should I heal him.

But, the lawless, are like the sea when tossed,—For, rest, it cannot! But its waters toss out mire and dirt.

No well-being, saith my God, to the lawless!