But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
Parallel translations
- WEB “But draw near here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes.
- BSB “But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
- NKJV “But come here, You sons of the sorceress, You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
- NASB “But come here, you sons of a sorceress, Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!
- NLT “But you—come here, you witches’ children, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
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 calls the idolaters near, naming them children of a sorceress and offspring of adulterers. It matters because it begins a sharp indictment of the people's spiritual unfaithfulness.
Overview
Turning from the righteous to the wicked, God summons the guilty for judgment, branding them with the language of witchcraft and adultery to expose their idolatry. Spiritual unfaithfulness is portrayed as marital betrayal of God. This sets up the catalog of idolatrous sins that follows, against which God's grace will later shine all the brighter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 16:4A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
- 1 Jn 3:10In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
- Jas 4:4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
- Hos 1:2The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
- Gen 3:15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
- John 8:40–44But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
- Luke 3:7Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
- Isa 45:20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
- Joel 3:9–11Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
- Matt 12:34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
- Matt 23:33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
- Matt 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
- Rev 17:1–5And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
- Isa 1:21How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 57:3 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.