| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. | 1The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. |
| 2He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. | 2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. |
| 3But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. | 3"But you--come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! |
| 4Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, | 4Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? |
| 5Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? | 5You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. |
| 6Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? | 6The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; indeed, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In view of all this, should I relent? |
| 7Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. | 7You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices. |
| 8Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. | 8Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked with lust on their naked bodies. |
| 9And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. | 9You went to Molek with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the very realm of the dead! |
| 10Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved. | 10You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint. |
| 11And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not? | 11"Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? |
| 12I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee. | 12I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. |
| 13When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; | 13When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain." |
| 14And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. | 14And it will be said: "Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people." |
| 15For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. | 15For this is what the high and exalted One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. |
| 16For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. | 16I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me-- the very people I have created. |
| 17For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. | 17I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. |
| 18I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. | 18I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel's mourners, |
| 19I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. | 19creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them." |
| 20But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. | 20But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. |
| 21There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. | 21"There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked." |
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