Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 1:4–6

The NET BibleOther versions

English

Arabic

Czech

French

German

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Simplified Chinese

Spanish

Traditional Chinese

1:410 The sinful nation is as good as dead,11

the people weighed down by evil deeds.

They are offspring who do wrong,

children12 who do wicked things.

They have abandoned the Lord,

and rejected the Holy One of Israel.13

They are alienated from him.14

1:515Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel?16

Your head has a massive wound,17

your whole body is weak.18

1:6From the soles of your feet to your head,

there is no spot that is unharmed.19

There are only bruises, cuts,

and open wounds.

They have not been cleansed20 or bandaged,

nor have they been treated21 with olive oil.22

Read in Logos

Footnotes

  1. 10 Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2–3) has concluded.
  2. 11 Heb “Woe [to the] sinful nation.” The Hebrew term הוֹי, (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death. In highly dramatic fashion the prophet acts out Israel’s funeral in advance, emphasizing that their demise is inevitable if they do not repent soon.
  3. 12 Or “sons” (). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege—nation, people, offspring, children—with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day—sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 43).
  4. 13 Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
  5. 14 Heb “they are estranged backward.” The omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.
  6. 15 In vv. 5–9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5–8) and speaks as their representative (9).
  7. 16 Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”
  8. 17 Heb “all the head is ill”; “the whole head is sick”; “Your head is badly bruised.”
  9. 18 Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).
  10. 19 Heb “there is not in it health”; “there is no sound spot.”
  11. 20 Heb “pressed out.”
  12. 21 Heb “softened” (so , ); “soothed.”
  13. 22 This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Ah, sinful nation,

a people laden with iniquity,

offspring of evildoers,

children who deal corruptly!

They have forsaken the Lord,

they have despised the Holy One of Israel,

they are utterly estranged.

Why will you still be struck down?

Why will you continue to rebel?

The whole head is sick,

and the whole heart faint.

From the sole of the foot even to the head,

there is no soundness in it,

but bruises and sores

and raw wounds;

they are not pressed out or bound up

or softened with oil.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Woe to the sinful nation,

a people whose guilt is great,

a brood of evildoers,

children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the Lord;

they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on him.

Why should you be beaten anymore?

Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

your whole heart afflicted.

From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

or soothed with olive oil.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Oh sinful nation,

people weighed down with iniquity,

brood of evildoers,

depraved children!

They have abandoned the Lord;

they have despised the Holy One of Israel;

they have turned their backs on him.

Why do you want more beatings?

Why do you keep on rebelling?

The whole head is hurt,

and the whole heart is sick.

From the sole of the foot even to the head,

no spot is uninjured—

wounds, welts, and festering sores

not cleansed, bandaged,

or soothed with oil.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

Oh, what a sinful nation they are—

loaded down with a burden of guilt.

They are evil people,

corrupt children who have rejected the Lord.

They have despised the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on him.

Why do you continue to invite punishment?

Must you rebel forever?

Your head is injured,

and your heart is sick.

You are battered from head to foot—

covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—

without any soothing ointments or bandages.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Ah, sinful nation,

a people heavy with iniquity,

offspring of evildoers,

children who deal corruptly.

They have forsaken Yahweh;

they have despised the holy one of Israel.

They are estranged and gone backward.

Why do you want to be beaten again?

You continue in rebellion.

The whole of the head is sick,

and the whole of the heart is faint.

From the sole of the foot and up to the head

there is no health in it;

bruise and sore and bleeding wound have not been cleansed,

and they have not been bound up

and not softened with the oil.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity,

A seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters:

They have forsaken the Lord,

They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger,

They are gone away backward.

Why should ye be stricken any more?

Ye will revolt more and more:

The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it;

But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores:

They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Public Domain