Yesaya 57:5-7

57:5 you who practice ritual sex ¹  under the oaks and every green tree,

who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. ² 

57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;

they, they are the object of your devotion. ³ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ⁴ 

57:7 On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed;

you go up there to offer sacrifices.

Yesaya 65:4

65:4 They sit among the tombs ⁵ 

and keep watch all night long. ⁶ 

They eat pork, ⁷ 

and broth ⁸  from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

Yesaya 66:17

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ⁹  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ¹⁰  – they will all be destroyed together,” ¹¹  says the Lord.

[57:5]  ¹ tn Heb “inflame yourselves”; NRSV “burn with lust.” This verse alludes to the practice of ritual sex that accompanied pagan fertility rites.

[57:5]  ² sn This apparently alludes to the practice of child sacrifice (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[57:6]  ³ tn Heb “among the smooth stones of the stream [is] your portion, they, they [are] your lot.” The next line indicates idols are in view.

[57:6]  ⁴ tn The text reads literally, “Because of these am I relenting?” If the prefixed interrogative particle is retained at the beginning of the sentence, then the question would be rhetorical, with the Niphal of נָחָם (nakham) probably being used in the sense of “relent, change one’s mind.” One could translate: “Because of these things, how can I relent?” However, the initial letter he may be dittographic (note the final he [ה] on the preceding word). In this case one may understand the verb in the sense of “console oneself, seek vengeance,” as in 1:24.

[65:4]  ⁵ sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.

[65:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (nÿtsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).

[65:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”

[65:4]  ⁸ tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, reads מְרַק (mÿraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (feraq, “fragment”).

[66:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.

[66:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”

[66:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”