57.4
The Book of Isaiah 57.4 · Whom are you mocking?57.4Whom are you mocking?
God is still addressing the accused. He turns their own gestures of contempt back on them.
· · ·
עַל־1
ʿal-
Overupon
מִי2
mî
whomwho
תִּתְעַנָּגוּ3
tiṯʿannāḡû
do you take delightyou delight yourselves
עַל־4
ʿal-
atupon
מִי5
mî
whomwho
תַּרְחִיבוּ6
tarḥîḇû
do you open wideyou widen
your
פֶה7
p̄eh
mouth
and
תַּאֲרִיכוּ8
taʾărîḵû
stick outyou lengthen
your
לָשׁוֹן9
lāšôn
tongue
? הֲלוֹא־10
hălôʾ-
Is it not
אַתֶּם11
ʾattem
you
יִלְדֵי־12
yilḏê-
childrenchildren of
of
פֶשַׁע13
p̄ešaʿ
rebelliontransgression
, זֶרַע14
zeraʿ
offspringseed of
of
שָׁקֶר׃15
šāqer
deceitfalsehood
? Over whom do you delight At whom do you open wide your mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of deceit?
Over whom do you delight At whom do you open wide your mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of deceit?
57.5
The Book of Isaiah 57.5 · Burning with lust among the oaks57.5Burning with lust among the oaks
The charge against the accused becomes specific: fertility worship in the groves and ravines, including the sacrifice of children.
· · ·
You who burn with lust among the oaks, under every leafy tree, who slaughter the children in the wadis, under the clefts of the crags.
Opening the mouth wide and sticking out the tongue is mockery, the gesture of a jeering crowd (compare Psalm 22:7). The mockers are told who they really are: “children of rebellion, offspring of a lie”.