The Meaning of Isaiah 57:14 Explained

Isaiah 57:14

KJV: And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.

YLT: And he hath said, 'Raise up, raise up, prepare a way, Lift a stumbling-block out of the way of My people.'

Darby: And it shall be said, Cast up, cast up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-blocks out of the way of my people.

ASV: And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And shall say,  Cast ye up,  cast ye up,  prepare  the way,  take up  the stumblingblock  out of the way  of my people. 

What does Isaiah 57:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In the future, someone would give an order to prepare the way for the Israelites to return to their land and to their God (cf. Isaiah 40:3; Isaiah 62:10). Watts took this as an exhortation to the Jews in Babylonian exile to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. [1] The speaker is probably God, but the speech is more important than the speaker. The figure is of building a roadbed for a highway that would become the route of the Israelites.

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 57:14 mean?

And one shall say Heap it up Heap it up Prepare the way take the stumbling block out of the way of My people -
וְאָמַ֥ר סֹֽלּוּ־ סֹ֖לּוּ פַּנּוּ־ דָ֑רֶךְ הָרִ֥ימוּ מִכְשׁ֖וֹל מִדֶּ֥רֶךְ עַמִּֽי ס

וְאָמַ֥ר  And  one  shall  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
סֹֽלּוּ־  Heap  it  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: סָלַל 
Sense: to lift up, cast up, exalt.
סֹ֖לּוּ  Heap  it  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: סָלַל 
Sense: to lift up, cast up, exalt.
פַּנּוּ־  Prepare 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: פֹּונֶה 
Sense: to turn.
דָ֑רֶךְ  the  way 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
הָרִ֥ימוּ  take 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָרוּם 
Sense: to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted.
מִכְשׁ֖וֹל  the  stumbling  block 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִכְשֹׁול  
Sense: a stumbling, means or occasion of stumbling, stumbling block.
מִדֶּ֥רֶךְ  out  of  the  way 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common singular construct
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
עַמִּֽי  of  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation