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.
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You
הַנֵּחָמִים1
ha-nnēḥāmîm
burning with lustthe inflamed
בָּאֵלִים2
bā-ʾēlîm
among the oaksamong the mighty ones
, תַּחַת3
taḥaṯ
under
כָּל־4
kol-
everyall of
עֵץ5
ʿēṣ
tree
רַעֲנָן6
raʿănān
leafygreen
, שֹׁחֲטֵי7
šōḥăṭê
slaughteringslaughterers of
הַיְלָדִים8
ha-yəlāḏîm
the children
בַּנְּחָלִים9
ba-nnəḥālîm
in the wadisin the streams
, תַּחַת10
taḥaṯ
under
סְעִפֵי11
səʿip̄ê
the cleftsclefts of
הַסְּלָעִים׃12
ha-ssəlāʿîm
of the cragsthe cliffs
. 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.
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.
57.6
The Book of Isaiah 57.6 · Your portion is among the smooth stones57.6Your portion is among the smooth stones
Still the accusation of idolatry. The stones of the wadi receive the offerings that belong to God.
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Among the smooth stones of the wadi is your portion; they, they are your lot. Even to them you poured out a drink offering you offered up a grain offering. Shall I relent over these things?
Ba-ʾēlîm is the hinge of this verse, and it can be read two ways. Pointed as it is, it can mean “among the oaks”, the great trees of the hilltop shrines (as ʾêlîm in Isaiah 1:29). It can also mean “with the gods”, since ʾēl is the ordinary word for a god. The Greek chose the gods outright: οἱ παρακαλοῦντες τὰ εἴδωλα ὑπὸ δένδρα δασέα, “who call upon the idols under leafy trees”.
The second half is darker: they slaughter children in the wadis. Child sacrifice is condemned again and again in the prophets and in Kings (2 Kings 23:10, the Topheth in the valley of Hinnom), which tells us it was practiced.
The Greek Bible (Septuagint, Swete 1894): οἱ παρακαλοῦντες τὰ εἴδωλα ὑπὸ δένδρα δασέα, “who call upon the idols under leafy trees”. the printed page, p. 205