Isaiah 59:4

59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

KJV

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No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity, and speak lies. They conceive mischief, and give birth to iniquity.

None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

None calls for justice, nor any pleads for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

59:5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. cockatrice': or, adder's crushed: or, sprinkled is as if there brake out a viper

What does Isaiah 59:4 mean?

Isaiah 59:4 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include קָרָא (qârâʼ), צֶדֶק (tsedeq), שָׁפַט (shâphaṭ). It connects to 12 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

None

callethקָרָאqârâʼ/kaw-raw'/H7121to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)

for

justice,צֶדֶקtsedeq/tseh'-dek/H6664the right (natural, moral or legal); also (abstractly) equity or (figuratively) prosperity

nor

any

pleadethשָׁפַטshâphaṭ/shaw-fat'/H8199to judge, i.e. pronounce sentence (for or against); by implication, to vindicate or punish; by extenssion, to govern; passively, to litigate (literally or figuratively)

for

truth:אֱמוּנָהʼĕmûwnâh/em-oo-naw'/H530literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity

they

trustבָּטַחbâṭach/baw-takh'/H982figuratively, to trust, be confident or sure

vanity,תֹּהוּtôhûw/to'-hoo/H8414a desolation (of surface), i.e. desert; figuratively, a worthless thing; adverbially, in vain

and

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

lies;שָׁוְאshâvᵉʼ/shawv/H7723evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjective), uselessness (as deceptive, objective; also adverbially, in vain)

they

conceiveהָרָהhârâh/haw-raw'/H2029to be (or become) pregnant, conceive (literally or figuratively)

mischief,עָמָלʻâmâl/aw-mawl'/H5999toil, i.e. wearing effort; hence, worry, wheth. of body or mind

and

bring

forthיָלַדyâlad/yaw-lad'/H3205to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage

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

Commentary on Isaiah 59:4

HENRY_FULL · Isaiah 59:4

it will find there is something to be got by it. 1. Let not a poor gardener, who keeps the fig-tree, be discouraged; though it require constant care and attendance to nurse up fig-trees, and, when they have grown to maturity, to keep them in good order, and gather the figs in their season, yet he shall be paid for his pains: He shall eat the fruit of it, 1 Cor. ix. 7 . 2. Nay, let not a poor servant think himself incapable of thriving and being preferred; for if he be diligent in waiting on his master, observant of him and obedient to him, if he keep his master (so the word is), if he do all he can for the securing of his person and reputation and take care that his estate be not wasted or damaged, such a one shall be honoured, shall not only get a good word, but be preferred and rewarded. God is a Master who has engaged to put an honour on those that serve him faithfully, John xii. 26 . 19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. This shows us that there is a way, 1. Of knowing ourselves. As the water is a looking-glass in which we may see our faces by reflection, so there are mirrors by which the

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Ecclesiastes 1:8

All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

Ecclesiastes 2:10

And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.

Ecclesiastes 2:11

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

Ecclesiastes 5:11

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

Ecclesiastes 6:7

All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. appetite: Heb. soul

Isaiah 23:5

As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

Isaiah 30:15

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Isaiah 30:16

But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

Jeremiah 22:17

But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. violence: or, incursion

Habakkuk 2:5

Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: Yea: or, How much more

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Topics

Falsehood Malice Trust Truth Wicked

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 59:4.

Deuteronomy 1:16

And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

Deuteronomy 16:18

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

Genesis 16:13

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Genesis 20:8

Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

Leviticus 19:15

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

Psalms 31:6

I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.

Psalms 37:3

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. verily: Heb. in truth, or, stableness

Psalms 4:5

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 59:4 say?

Isaiah 59:4 (King James Version) reads: "None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity."

Is Isaiah 59:4 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 59:4 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

Reflect

As you read Isaiah 59:4, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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