Isaiah 57:11

Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses the Israelites in Isaiah 57, confronting their idolatrous reliance on human powers and false spiritual practices. He speaks after describing their weary journeys in Isaiah 57:10 and before declaring their self-justifying works will fail in Isaiah 57:12.

The words — The Hebrew term דָּאַגְתְּ (da.'Agt) literally means "did you dread," paired with מִ֞י (mi, "whom?") to question their misplaced terror. תְכַזֵּ֔בִי (te.kha.Ze.vi) translates as "you will lie," indicating their false assurance that God's silence means indifference.

The thread — This confrontation echoes Isaiah 51:12, which questions fear of mortal man, and Psalms 50:21, which warns against mistaking divine patience for approval. Proverbs 29:25 also contrasts the snare of fearing people with secure trust in the LORD.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that God's long silence is not absence but a test of reverence. It requires readers to examine whether their fear of people or circumstances has replaced genuine trust in God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?

Cross-references

Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
Psalms 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
Jeremiah 3:21 A voice is heard on the barren heights, the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the LORD their God.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
Isaiah 26:10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.
Isaiah 30:9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
Isaiah 59:3 For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
Jeremiah 2:32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
Jeremiah 9:3 “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.