Isaiah 57:17

 Isaiah 57:17

For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.

a. NASB 1995: “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;

I hid My face and was angry, And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. NKJV: For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified Bible: For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Milstein Edition, Later Prophets, Isaiah. With Rabbinic Commentary: I became angry because of his sinful thievery; I struck him, I hid Myself and became angry, because he continued waywardly in the path of his heart.  [THE ARTSCROLL SERIES\MILSTEIN EDITION THE LATTER PROPHETS, ISAIAH Ⓒ Copyright 2013 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

e. ESV: Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. “For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.”

a. [For the] iniquity [Strong: 5771 ʻâvôn, aw-vone'; or עָווֹן ʻâvôwn; (2 Kings 7:9; Psalm 51:5 [7]), aw-vone'; from H5753; perversity, i.e. (moral) evil:—fault, iniquity, mischief, punishment (of iniquity), sin.]

b. [of his] covetousness [Strong: 1215 betsaʻ, beh'-tsah; from H1214; plunder; by extension, gain (usually unjust):—covetousness, (dishonest) gain, lucre, profit.]

c. [was I] wroth [Strong: 7107 qâtsaph, kaw-tsaf'; a primitive root; to crack off, i.e. (figuratively) burst out in rage:—(be) anger(-ry), displease, fret self, (provoke to) wrath (come), be wroth.]

d. [and] smote [him] [Strong: 5221  nâkâh, naw-kaw'; a primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively):—beat, cast forth, clap, give (wounds), × go forward, × indeed, kill, make (slaughter), murderer, punish, slaughter, slay(-er, -ing), smite(-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, × surely, wound.]

e. [I] hid [me] [Strong: 5641 çâthar, saw-thar'; a primitive root; to hide (by covering), literally or figuratively:—be absent, keep close, conceal, hide (self), (keep) secret, × surely.]

1). When God hides His face from Israel, evil will automatically befall them. It is not Him causing evil upon them but the Covenant truth that he will withdraw his Covenant protection because of their disobedience. 

a). Deuteronomy 31:16-18 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

31:17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

31:18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

2). “It is a great peculiarity in Hebrew, that verbs attribute an action to a person who is the doer of such an action, only in as much as he permits, or does not interfere to prevent it. This is a real and indisputable usage, and of great importance to be observed; as it explains the meaning of those passages where God is said to harden the hearts of sinners.”  (J.F.Gyles, Elements of Hebrew Grammar; London A.J.Valpy, 1914). Taken from Troy J. Edwards, The Permissive Sense. 

f. [and was] wroth [Strong: 7107 qâtsaph, kaw-tsaf'; a primitive root; to crack off, i.e. (figuratively) burst out in rage:—(be) anger(-ry), displease, fret self, (provoke to) wrath (come), be wroth.]

g. [and he] went on [Strong: 3212 yâlak, yaw-lak'; a primitive root (compare H1980); to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses):—× again, away, bear, bring, carry (away), come (away), depart, flow, follow(-ing), get (away, hence, him), (cause to, made) go (away, -ing, -ne, one's way, out), grow, lead (forth), let down, march, prosper, pursue, cause to run, spread, take away (-journey), vanish, (cause to) walk(-ing), wax, × be weak.]

h. frowardly [Strong: 7726 shôwbâb, sho-bawb'; from H7725; apostate, i.e. idolatrous:—backsliding, frowardly, turn away (from margin).]

i. [in his] way [Strong: 1870 derek, deh'-rek; from H1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb:—along, away, because of, by, conversation, custom, (east-) ward, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward, (high-) (path-) way(-side), whither(-soever).]

j. [of his] heart [Strong: 3820 lêb, labe; a form of H3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything:—care for, comfortably, consent, × considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-), (hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart(-ed), × heed, × I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), × regard(-ed), × themselves, × unawares, understanding, × well, willingly, wisdom.]