Isaiah 57:12 kjv
I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
Isaiah 57:12 nkjv
I will declare your righteousness And your works, For they will not profit you.
Isaiah 57:12 niv
I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.
Isaiah 57:12 esv
I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, but they will not profit you.
Isaiah 57:12 nlt
Now I will expose your so-called good deeds.
None of them will help you.
Isaiah 57 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 57:12 | "And I will declare your righteousness and your works, and they will not profit you." | Isa 57:12 |
| Psalm 6:3 | "My soul is deeply troubled; but You, O LORD—how long?" | Psa 6:3 |
| Psalm 78:34 | "When He slew them, then they sought Him; they turned back and earnestly sought God." | Psa 78:34 |
| Jer 3:23 | "Surely the tumult of false gods on the mountains, the pain on the hills is a lie; surely the joy of Israel is a lie." | Jer 3:23 |
| Jer 7:29 | "Cut off your hair and cast it away; Lament on the desolate heights, for He has rejected the generation that provokes His wrath." | Jer 7:29 |
| Jer 17:5 | "Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.'" | Jer 17:5 |
| Jer 22:20 | "Go up to Lebanon, and cry out; And lift your voice in Bashan, And cry from Abarim, For all your lovers are destroyed." | Jer 22:20 |
| Hosea 8:5 | "The calf of Samaria He shall surely break in pieces." | Hos 8:5 |
| Hosea 10:2 | "Their heart is divided; now they are found guilty. He will break down their altars andTheir pillars will be destroyed." | Hos 10:2 |
| Micah 3:4 | "Then they will cry out to the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds." | Mic 3:4 |
| Zech 11:16 | "For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land Who will not seek what is lost, nor visit what was scattered, nor heal what was broken, nor feed what remains. He will destroy the flesh of the fat and tear in pieces their hooves." | Zech 11:16 |
| Matt 7:22 | "'Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'" | Matt 7:22 |
| Luke 13:25 | "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'" | Luke 13:25 |
| Acts 15:10 | "Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" | Acts 15:10 |
| 1 Cor 1:18 | "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." | 1 Cor 1:18 |
| 1 Cor 3:12 | "Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw," | 1 Cor 3:12 |
| 1 Cor 10:7 | "Nor let us be idolaters as were some of them, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”" | 1 Cor 10:7 |
| Gal 5:19 | "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness," | Gal 5:19 |
| James 4:4 | "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." | James 4:4 |
Isaiah 57 verses
Isaiah 57 12 Meaning
The Lord declares that in their desperation and distress, the people of Judah have sought salvation not in Him, but through vain and ineffective means. They have put their trust in worldly alliances and practices rather than in the steadfast love and covenant faithfulness of God. This pursuit of security and peace apart from divine reliance ultimately leads to destruction and confusion.
Isaiah 57 12 Context
Isaiah 57 prophesies to a people who have strayed from God's faithfulness and sought solace in pagan practices, political alliances, and personal effort. They have "made for themselves gods" (Isa 57:8), entrusting their security to human strength and foreign covenants. The immediate context describes their frantic, desperate search for help and the superficial appeasement they offer to their idols. They sought a misplaced trust in human wisdom and strength, which ultimately offered no true or lasting security. This chapter speaks to a spiritual unfaithfulness that results in judgment and loss.
Isaiah 57 12 Word Analysis
And I (וְאָנֹכִי / v'anokhi): "And" (וְ / ve) indicates a continuation and connection to what precedes. "I" (אָנֹכִי / anokhi) is an emphatic pronoun, strongly asserting God's personal involvement and declaration.
will declare (אֲסַפֵּר / asapper): From the root סָפַר (saphar), meaning to count, recount, tell, or declare. Here, it implies God will list or enumerate, not in praise, but in judgment.
your righteousness (צִדְקַתְכֶם / tzidkatkem): From צֶדֶק (tzedek), meaning righteousness, justice, equity. Here, it refers to what the people considered their righteous acts or deeds that they thought would commend them or save them. It's a human-defined righteousness.
and your works (וּמַעֲשֵׂיכֶם / uma'aseichem): From מַעֲשֶׂה (ma'aseh), meaning deed, action, work. This encompasses all their endeavors, religious rituals, political maneuvering, and efforts to secure themselves, believing these would yield profit.
and they will not profit you (וְלֹא יֹועִילוּ לָכֶם / v'lo yo'ilu lachem): From יָעַל (ya'al), meaning to be useful, profitable, advantageous. The Lord declares these actions, pursued apart from Him, will yield no benefit; they will be utterly useless for salvation or security.
what (מַה / mah): A rhetorical interrogative particle, highlighting the emptiness and futility of their efforts.
Word Group Analysis: "your righteousness and your works, and they will not profit you": This phrase encapsulates the core of the judgment. The people have relied on their own perceived moral standing and their own actions. They've built their hope on works-based salvation or on human alliances. The declaration "will not profit you" underscores the divine assessment: these endeavors are fundamentally flawed and will utterly fail to bring true deliverance or lasting security because they are devoid of God's grace and authority. This mirrors the futility of relying on worldly power structures or superficial piety, a recurring theme in prophetic literature.
Isaiah 57 12 Bonus Section
This verse powerfully contrasts two sources of reliance: oneself and God. It speaks to the universal human tendency to seek security and salvation through tangible, controllable means, whether it's personal merit, wealth, political power, or external rituals. However, biblical teaching consistently points to the futility of such endeavors when they exclude a foundational trust in God's sovereign power and loving provision. The "profit" God offers is eternal life and communion with Him, which cannot be earned but is freely given to those who trust in Christ Jesus. The verse serves as a solemn warning against any system of belief or practice that elevates human effort or earthly wisdom above divine revelation and grace.
Isaiah 57 12 Commentary
The people are rebuked for their spiritual adultery and their misplaced reliance. They sought security in outward acts and alliances rather than in the unchanging character and promises of God. Their "righteousness" was not the imputed righteousness of faith but self-generated actions and a dependence on human wisdom and strength, symbolized by their elaborate rituals and political entanglements. These efforts, though perhaps presented as sincere or strategically wise, are declared worthless in the face of divine judgment. God is essentially stating that their self-effort, however impressive it might appear to them, carries no salvific weight. True profit and salvation come only through humble dependence on and faithfulness to the Lord.