PSALM 92:12; ISAIAH 57:1-2 DO THE RIGHTEOUS FLOURISH OR PERISH?

 

One biblical contradiction that has been supposedly discovered by skeptics is that it states in Psalm 92:12 that the righteous flourish while Isaiah 57:1 states that they perish. This is typical of the cherry-picking through Scripture carried out by critics done with no consideration whatsoever of the relative contexts of the passages.

In the first place, commentators will note that Psalm 92 has the characteristics of a Wisdom Psalm, and as such is like the proverbs in stating a truth that is generally applicable but can't be pushed to cover all situations. By contrast, Isaiah is specifically describing a particular sad time in the history of Israel.

Secondly, the critic who formulated this “contradiction” conveniently left off Isaiah 57:2, which helps to explain the thought of the passage.

Lastly, most commentators will point out that the Hebrew of Isaiah 57:1-2 is in some disarray, and therefore definitive translations are almost impossible:

    “The text and meaning of these two verses are not all clear.” (International Bible Commentary)

    “The lines are obscure.” (Anchor Bible)

    “It is impossible to make sense of these verses as they stand...” (New Century Bible Commentary)

In commenting on Psalm 92, all the sources I consulted agreed that the flourishing of the righteous was to be in future, perhaps eschatological, times – not necessarily here on earth.

    “...the psalm may be anticipatory of the eternal sabbath rest for the children of God which in its fulness is yet to come.” “...behind it lies the thought of acceptance and eternal security with God...” (New Bible Commentary)

    “When he sees the wicked 'grow like weeds' (GNB), he is unperturbed. His eye of faith, made keen in the sanctuary, can see God's cloud of judgment on the distant horizon.” (IBC)

    “Quite often the righteous are to be found among the poor and needy...while the wicked are rich and powerful. But even if they are in need for some time, the righteous are better off, for in the end they will surely prosper.” In Psalm 11:2-3, 9 this is clarified by the phrase “their righteousness endures forever.” (Dictionary of the OT: Wisdom, Psalms & Writings, p. 665)

    “Verse 6 contrasts “God's deep thoughts and the knowledge of the clueless human, who cannot see the long view of life.” (New International Commentary on the OT)

    In the later Temple liturgy “it was given an eschatological significance.” (Anderson, Psalms 73-150)

 Concerning Isaiah 57:1-2:

    “...a brief passage designed to reassure the righteous that however neglected and maltreated they may be under present circumstances, they will know full peace in due course, whether in this life or hereafter.” (IBC)

    “...but the sense seems to be that the death of the righteous brings them into security.” (AB)

    “The word peace would seem to imply that the final state of the righteous man (whether here or hereafter) will be pleasant.” (NCBC)

    “Here the sense would be that the righteous are being taken out of the society by God because of the increasing evil in the society and the evil to which it is rushing.” “It appears that the prophet thinks of those who have been righteous and faithful as being taken from this world to a better place where the unnoticed lives they have lived here will be rewarded.” (NICOT)

    “Isaiah pictures their [the righteous'] death as entering into peace and finding rest – words that resemble Paul's statement that “to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21) (Wolf, Interpreting Isaiah)

To this last comment could be added Romans 8:18: “I consider that the sufferings of the present are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.” This pretty much summarizes the consistent message of both Psalm 92:12 and Isaiah 57:1-2 when the contexts of the two passages are considered, as they should have been by any reader who truly wanted to understand them.