The Meaning of Isaiah 57:2 Explained

Isaiah 57:2

KJV: He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

YLT: He entereth into peace, they rest on their beds, Each is going straightforward.

Darby: He entereth into peace: they rest in their beds, each one that hath walked in his uprightness.

ASV: He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh in his uprightness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He shall enter  into peace:  they shall rest  in their beds,  [each one] walking  [in] his uprightness. 

What does Isaiah 57:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The righteous person entered a condition of peace by dying and going to his or her eternal reward. The end of the righteous, then, contrasts with that of the wicked leaders ( Isaiah 56:9-12).

Context Summary

Isaiah 57:1-21 - No Peace To The Wicked
A terrible portrayal is given here of the idolatries and impurities into which the Chosen People had fallen. These scenes under "the oaks" (r.v.) and in the valleys remind us of the invariable evils associated with idolatry which the great Apostle has recorded in Romans 1:23-28. They refused to retain God in their knowledge, and He gave them over to a reprobate mind; that is, He ceased to restrain them.
But amid the degenerate nation, there was a handful of elect souls; God is always careful against rooting up the tares, lest one stalk of wheat perish. Amid the destruction that must overtake the guilty land they that trusted in Him, would not be overlooked. See Isaiah 57:13-14.
With what comfort the chapter closes! Isaiah 57:15, etc. We may have been covetous and froward, and have deserved wrath and chastisement, but God will not always chide. Only return to Him! He will revive your heart, and "restore comfort" to you. He will heal where He has wounded, and will bring you near, through the blood of the Cross. See Ephesians 2:16-17. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 57

1  The blessed death of the righteous
3  God reproves the People for their idolatry
13  He gives promises of mercy to the penitent

What do the individual words in Isaiah 57:2 mean?

He shall enter into peace they shall rest in their beds [Each one] walking [in] his uprightness
יָב֣וֹא שָׁל֔וֹם יָנ֖וּחוּ עַל־ מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָ֑ם הֹלֵ֖ךְ נְכֹחֽוֹ

יָב֣וֹא  He  shall  enter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שָׁל֔וֹם  into  peace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.
יָנ֖וּחוּ  they  shall  rest 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נוּחַ 
Sense: to rest.
מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָ֑ם  their  beds 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מִשְׁכָּב  
Sense: a lying down, couch, bier, act of lying.
הֹלֵ֖ךְ  [Each  one]  walking 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
נְכֹחֽוֹ  [in]  his  uprightness 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכֹחַ  
Sense: straight, right, straightness, be in front of.