But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest, and its waters cast up mire and mud.
- BSB But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.
- NKJV But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
- NASB But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
- NLT “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wicked are like a restless, churning sea that throws up mire and mud. Unrepentant sin yields no rest or stability.
Overview
In vivid contrast to the peace promised to the contrite, the wicked are compared to a tossing sea that cannot be still, casting up filth. Their inner turmoil mirrors their unsettled relationship with God. The image underscores that true rest is found only in the Lord, a peace Christ offers to all who come to Him weary and heavy-laden.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 4:16–17For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
- Isa 3:11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- Job 18:5–14Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
- Jude 1:12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
- Job 20:11–29His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
- Job 15:20–24The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
- Ps 73:18–20Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 57:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.