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There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.
Isaiah 57:21 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB “There is no peace”, says my God, “for the wicked.”
  • KJV There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
  • BSB “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
  • NKJV “Thereis no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.”
  • NASB “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

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

God declares there is no peace for the wicked. Apart from repentance, sin forecloses true peace.

Overview

This concluding refrain, repeated from Isaiah 48:22, draws a firm line: the wicked have no peace. It marks the boundary between those who humbly take refuge in God and those who persist in rebellion. The verse drives home our need for the peace God provides, which the gospel announces is found only through reconciliation with Him in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Isa 48:22“There is no peace”, says Yahweh, “for the wicked.”
  • Isa 3:11Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.
  • 2 Kgs 9:22When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?”
  • Isa 59:8They don’t know the way of peace; and there is no justice in their ways. They have made crooked paths for themselves; whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace.
  • Rom 3:16–17Destruction and misery are in their ways.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 57:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 57:21 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.