And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
Parallel translations
- WEB You went to the king with oil, and increased your perfumes, and sent your ambassadors far off, and degraded yourself even to Sheol.
- BSB You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.
- NKJV You went to the king with ointment, And increased your perfumes; You sent your messengers far off, And even descended to Sheol.
- NASB “You have journeyed to the king with oil And increased your perfumes; You have sent your messengers a great distance And made them go down to Sheol.
- NLT You have gone to Molech with olive oil and many perfumes, sending your agents far and wide, even to the world of the dead.
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
They sought foreign alliances and idols with oil and perfumes, sending envoys far and debasing themselves even to Sheol. It matters because it shows how far unfaithfulness will go in trusting anything but God.
Overview
Whether describing trust in foreign kings or pursuit of idolatrous worship, the people lavish gifts and travel great distances, degrading themselves to the point of death. Their relentless pursuit of false security leads only downward. The verse exposes the self-destructive nature of forsaking God, against which His coming offer of healing and peace (later in the chapter) stands as grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 23:16And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
- Col 2:18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
- Isa 30:1–6Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
- Isa 31:1–3Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
- Ezek 23:40And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
- Hos 12:1Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
- Prov 7:17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
- 2 Kgs 16:7–11So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
- Hos 7:11Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
- Ezek 16:33They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
- Isa 2:9And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 57:9 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.