The Meaning of Isaiah 57:3 Explained

Isaiah 57:3

KJV: But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

YLT: And ye, come near hither, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even thou dost commit whoredom.

Darby: But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.

ASV: But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But draw near  hither, ye sons  of the sorceress,  the seed  of the adulterer  and the whore. 

What does Isaiah 57:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God summoned the idolatrous Israelites, in contrast to the righteous ( Isaiah 57:1-2), to come before Him for judgment. Rather than behaving like descendants of Abraham and Sarah (cf. Isaiah 51:2), these wicked Israelites were acting as though their father was an adulterer and their mother a sorceress and a prostitute. That Isaiah , they were congenitally selfish, unfaithful to God, and wayward.
"Adultery ... expresses the principle (unfaithfulness to the covenant); prostitution the practice (devotion to lovers other than the Lord). The adulterer gives his love elsewhere; the prostitute takes other lovers." [1]

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 57:3 mean?

But You come here sons of the sorceress You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot
וְאַתֶּ֥ם קִרְבוּ־ הֵ֖נָּה בְּנֵ֣י עֹנְנָ֑ה זֶ֥רַע מְנָאֵ֖ף וַתִּזְנֶֽה

וְאַתֶּ֥ם  But  You 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, second person masculine plural
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
קִרְבוּ־  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: קָרַב  
Sense: to come near, approach, enter into, draw near.
הֵ֖נָּה  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: הֵנָּה  
Sense: here, there, now, hither.
בְּנֵ֣י  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עֹנְנָ֑ה  of  the  sorceress 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, feminine singular
Root: עָנַן 
Sense: (Piel) to make appear, produce, bring (clouds).
זֶ֥רַע  You  offspring 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זֶרַע  
Sense: seed, sowing, offspring.
מְנָאֵ֖ף  of  the  adulterer 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָאַף  
Sense: to commit adultery.
וַתִּזְנֶֽה  and  the  harlot 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: זָנָה 
Sense: to commit fornication, be a harlot, play the harlot.