I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. Thy righteousness – “My righteousness”] For tsidkathech, THY righteousness, the Syriac, Septuagint, MSS. Alex. and Pachom., and I. D. II., and Marchal. and , and the Arabic, read tsidki, MY righteousness.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. declareI will exposepublicly thy (hypocritical) righteousness. I will show openly howvain thy works, in having recourse to idols, or foreign alliances,shall prove (Isa 57:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
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, cannot be a synonym of 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. is not a second accusative to , for in that case we should have ; 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 ), here an empatic elevation of the subject, compare Isa 53:8, , Ewald, 277, p. 683). This determines the meaning of , 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 ( qibbuts , collectio , not an adjective of the form limmud ) of different idols, with which Israel had furnished itself even in its captivity (compare qibbatsah in Mic 1:7). It was in vain for them to turn to these pantheons of theirs; a single ruach would carry them all away, a hebhel would sweep them off, for they themselves were nothing but hebhel and ruach (Isa 41:29). The proper punctuation here is ; the first syllable of , 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 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 forms an intentional antithesis to the promise there, : 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.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
12. I will declare thy righteousness. The Prophet affirms that the Lord will no longer endure what he formerly endured, and that henceforth he must follow a different method. He calls it ironically “their righteousness;“ for he means by it all the wickedness and all the errors by which they were stained and corrupted; as if he had said, “I will show what is the nature of your righteousness.” So long as God “holds his peace,” they who are most unrighteous and most unholy appear to be “righteous” persons; but when the Lord ascends his judgment-seat, men are brought out of their lurkingplaces, and their baseness is dragged forth to public view. And so the Prophet means that the greatest wickedness passes in the world for “righteousness,” so long as God holds his peace, but that it shall at length be scattered, when he ascends his judgmentseat; for men, after having much and long flattered themselves, shall at length feel that he is their judge.
And they shall not profit thee. This relates to the effect, by which men almost always judge; for they do not inquire whether a thing be righteous or unrighteous, but think that whatever is profitable to them ought to be approved. The Prophet therefore threatens that all the works from which they hoped to derive some profit shall be destructive to them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
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.
a Antiphrasis ironica.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
for. Some codices, with two early printed editions, omit “for”, and read “and thy works, they will not profit thee”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 1:11-15, Isa 58:2-6, Isa 59:6-8, Isa 64:5, Isa 66:3, Isa 66:4, Jer 7:4-11, Mic 3:2-4, Mat 23:5, Mat 23:14, Rom 3:10-20, Rom 10:2, Rom 10:3
Reciprocal: Isa 28:20 – the bed Isa 64:6 – all our 1Co 13:3 – profiteth Gal 1:14 – profited Tit 3:5 – by works Rev 3:2 – thy works
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
57:12 I will declare thy righteousness, {p} and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
(p) That is, your naughtiness, idolatry and impiety which the wicked call God’s service: thus he derides their obstinacy.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God would bring Israel into judgment and make known her "righteous" deeds (cf. Mat 13:24-30; Rev 20:12). What she considered righteousness, the blending of her elect calling and paganism, was anything but that (cf. Isa 56:1). She would come out lacking in that reckoning.