Bible Strands
Isaiah 57:9
You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers the LORD’s indictment to the rebellious people who have abandoned covenant faithfulness for pagan altars and foreign political pacts.
The words — לַ/מֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ (la./Me.lekh) translates literally to "to the king," while רִקֻּחָ֑יִ/ךְ (ri.ku.Cha.yi/kh) means "your perfumes."
The thread — Ezekiel 23:16 records sending messengers to Chaldea for foreign alliances, and Isaiah 30:1 alongside Isaiah 31:1 condemn relying on Egyptian chariots rather than divine protection.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that pursuing security through foreign powers or ritual manipulation exhausts the soul without producing hope, leaving only self-reliance and spiritual depletion.
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 thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 23:16 At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
- Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- Ezekiel 23:40 Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
- Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.
- 2 Kings 16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
- Proverbs 7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon.
- Isaiah 2:9 So mankind is brought low, and man is humbled—do not forgive them!
- Ezekiel 16:33 Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.
- Hosea 7:11 So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.