Isaiah 57:20 Meaning: Why the Wicked Are Like a Troubled Sea
But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest and its waters cast up mire and mud.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.
And the wicked are as the driven out sea, For to rest it is not able, And its waters cast out filth and mire.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, and whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Meaning in one sentence
Isaiah 57:20 explains the restless state of the wicked, like a sea that cannot be still, always churning up mire. What this means for us today.
Context
We are reading from the prophet Isaiah, a book that speaks both judgment and hope to God's people. In chapter 57, Isaiah confronts the people's idolatry and rebellion, yet the tone shifts dramatically in verse 15. God declares that He dwells with the contrite and lowly, and He promises to revive their spirits. By verse 18, God says He has seen their ways and will heal them, creating peace for those who are far off and those who are near.
Then comes the verse we are studying. It draws a sharp line. After offering peace to the repentant, the prophet shows that the wicked have no part in that peace. Their condition is not a temporary storm but a permanent restlessness, like the ocean that can never be still.
Key Words
The Hebrew word behind “troubled” is nigrash, which means tossed or driven. It pictures a sea that is forcibly stirred up, not by its own nature but by forces it cannot control. This is not an occasional squall; it is a constant churning.
The phrase “cannot rest” is stronger in the original. Literally, the sea is not able to be quiet. The same verb appears elsewhere for peace and stillness, here it is denied outright. There is no capacity for calm.
And then we see what this restless sea produces: “mire and mud”, refesh and tit. Churned-up filth from the bottom, thrown onto the shore. A heart without God never settles, and what it keeps surfacing is not refreshing but dirty. Old resentments, fresh worries, the same patterns of sin.
How Christians Read This Verse
Readers across the centuries have taken this image in similar directions. Many Protestant commentators note that the Hebrew does not describe a sea that is sometimes calm and sometimes stormy, but one that is incapable of stillness. The restlessness belongs to the nature of the wicked themselves, an inner turmoil that no outside circumstance can fix.
Other readers focus on what the sea produces: mire and mud from the deep. This, they suggest, pictures how a life without God keeps surfacing the same ugly patterns, anger, envy, deceit, blame. Whether read as inward suffering or outward behavior, all agree: the peace that God offers in the previous verses is not possible for those who persist in turning away.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers take the phrase “when it cannot rest” to mean that the wicked are like the sea only during storms, occasionally agitated. In fact, the Hebrew says something more troubling: “it is not able to be still.” The agitation is not episodic. It is the permanent condition of a life cut off from God. The sea never fully calms, and neither does a heart that refuses grace.
Living This Out
Maybe you feel like that restless sea yourself this week. Your mind keeps churning with anxiety, regret, or resentment, and you can’t seem to stop. This verse is not meant to condemn you. It shows you what life is like when we try to find peace on our own.
Just before this verse, God says He creates peace for those who are far off and those who are near. That peace is not a feeling you must produce. It is a gift from the One who calms storms. You can stop trying to still the sea yourself and let Him speak peace into your life today.
Main takeaway: A life without God has no true peace; it is like a sea that can only churn up more filth.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Imagine the ocean during a big storm. It makes huge waves and stirs up sand and mud. The Bible says people who keep doing wrong are like that stormy sea, they never feel calm inside.
For ages 9, 12
You know how the sea never really stops moving? Even on a calm day, there are currents underneath, and waves keep washing up bits of seaweed and dirt. Isaiah uses that picture to show us something about life without God. No matter how hard someone tries to be okay on their own, there is no real rest. Only God can give the kind of peace that reaches all the way down to the bottom of your heart.
Questions People Ask
What does 'troubled sea' mean in Isaiah 57:20?
It describes a permanent state of restlessness, not just occasional storms. The Hebrew word behind 'troubled' means 'tossed' or 'driven,' and the text says the sea 'cannot rest', it lacks the ability to be still. This pictures the inner turmoil of a life without God.
What is the 'mire and mud' that the sea casts up?
The Hebrew words (refesh and tit) refer to stirred-up filth from the bottom of the sea. In the metaphor, this represents the sinful words and actions that come from a restless heart, like anger, blame, pride, or deceit.
Does Isaiah 57:20 mean that all non-Christians are like this restlessness?
The verse contrasts the 'wicked' with those to whom God offers peace in the previous verses. Historic Christian teaching holds that all people apart from God live with this kind of unrest, but God's grace offers peace to anyone who turns to Him. The passage is both a warning and an invitation.
How does this verse connect to the promise of peace in verse 19?
Verse 19 says God creates peace for those who are far off and those who are near. Verse 20 shows the opposite: the wicked cannot receive that peace. The connection is a contrast. Those who repent and receive God's healing know rest; those who refuse do not.
Is there any hope for the wicked from this verse?
The verse itself is a description of the wicked's condition, but it appears right after God's offer of peace and healing (v18-19). The hope is not in this verse alone but in the surrounding passage: God is willing to heal and restore. The restless sea can be calmed by the One who speaks peace.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study