Isaiah 32:6

32:5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

KJV

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For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against Yahweh, To make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

For the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

32:7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. the needy: or, he speaketh against the poor in judgment

What does Isaiah 32:6 mean?

Isaiah 32:6 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include נָבָל (nâbâl), דָבַר (dâbar), נְבָלָה (nᵉbâlâh). It connects to 20 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

For

the

vile

personנָבָלnâbâl/naw-bawl'/H5036stupid; wicked (especially impious)

will

speakדָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue

villany,נְבָלָהnᵉbâlâh/neb-aw-law'/H5039foolishness, i.e. (morally) wickedness; concretely, a crime; by extension, punishment

and

his

heartלֵבlêb/labe/H3820the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything

will

workעָשָׂהʻâsâh/aw-saw'/H6213to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application

iniquity,אָוֶןʼâven/aw-ven'/H205strictly nothingness; also trouble. vanity, wickedness; specifically an idol

practiseעָשָׂהʻâsâh/aw-saw'/H6213to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application

hypocrisy,חֹנֶףchôneph/kho'-nef/H2612moral filth, i.e. wickedness

and

utterדָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue

errorתּוֹעָהtôwʻâh/to-aw'/H8442mistake, i.e. (morally) impiety, or (political) injury

against

the

LORD,יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God

make

emptyרוּקrûwq/rook/H7324to pour out (literally or figuratively), i.e. empty

the

soulנֶפֶשׁnephesh/neh'-fesh/H5315properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)

the

hungry,רָעֵבrâʻêb/raw-abe'/H7457hungry (more or less intensely)

and

will

cause

the

drinkמַשְׁקֶהmashqeh/mash-keh'/H4945properly, causing to drink, i.e. a butler; by implication (intransitively), drink (itself); figuratively, a well-watered region

the

thirstyצָמֵאtsâmêʼ/tsaw-may'/H6771thirsty (literally or figuratively)

fail.חָסֵרchâçêr/khaw-sare'/H2637to lack; by implication, to fail, want, lessen

Commentary on Isaiah 32:6

HENRY_FULL · Isaiah 32:6–7

>is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. 21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. We are here taught how to value men, not by their wealth and preferment in the world, but by their virtue. I. Good men are good for something. Though they may be poor and low in the world, and may not have power and riches to do good with, yet, as long as they have a mouth to speak, that will make them valuable and useful, and upon that account we must honour those that fear the Lord, because out of the good treasure of their heart they bring forth good things. 1. This makes them valuable: The tongue of the just is as choice silver; they are sincere, freed from the dross of guile and evil design. God's words are compared to silver purified ( Ps. xii. 6 ), for they may be relied on; and such are the words of just men. They are of weight and worth, and will enrich those that hear them with wisdom, which is better than choice silver. 2. It makes them useful: The lips of the righteous feed many; for they are full of the word of God, which is the bread of life, and that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry. II. Bad men are good for nothing. 1. One can get no good by them: The heart of the wicked is little worth, and therefore that which comes out of the abundance of his heart cannot be worth much. His principles, his notions, his thoughts, his purposes, and all the things that fill him, and affect him, are worldly and carnal, and therefore of no value. He that is of the earth speaks of the earth, and neither understands nor relishes the things of God, John iii. 31 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14 . The wicked man pretends that, though he does not talk of religion as the just do, yet he has it within him, and thanks God that his heart is good; but he that searches the heart here says the contrary: It is nothing worth. 2. One can do no good to them. While many are fed by the lips of the righteous, fools die for want of wisdom; and fools indeed they are to die for want of that which they might so easily come by. Fools die for want of a heart (so the word is); they perish for want of consideration and resolution; they have no heart to do any thing for their own good. While the righteous feed others fools starve themselves. The Advantages of the Righteous.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 12:2

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Genesis 13:2

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Genesis 14:23

That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

Genesis 24:35

And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

Genesis 26:12

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. received: Heb. found

Deuteronomy 8:17

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

Deuteronomy 8:18

But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Joshua 6:18

And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. accursed: or, devoted a curse: or, devoted

Joshua 7:1

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.

1 Samuel 2:7

The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

1 Samuel 2:8

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

1 Kings 21:19

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

2 Kings 5:26

And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

2 Kings 5:27

The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Job 27:8

For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

Psalms 37:22 Isaiah 28:22 Habakkuk 2:6 Zechariah 5:4 James 5:1

Topics

Hypocrisy Wicked

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 32:6.

Genesis 18:5

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. comfort: Heb. stay are: Heb. you have passed

Genesis 24:45

And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

Genesis 34:3

And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. kindly: Heb. to the heart of the damsel

Genesis 6:6

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Genesis 8:21

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. a sweet: Heb. a savour of rest or, satisfaction for the imagination: or, through the imagination

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 32:6 say?

Isaiah 32:6 (King James Version) reads: "For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail."

Is Isaiah 32:6 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 32:6 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

Reflect

As you read Isaiah 32:6, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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