Isaiah 5:18

Isaiah 5:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
• New International Version (NIV)Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;

Context of Isaiah 5:18

16But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in justice, And God, the Holy One, will show Himself holy in righteousness [through His righteous judgments]. 17Then the lambs will graze [among the ruins] as in their own pasture, And strangers will eat in the desolate places of the [exiled] wealthy. Woe (judgment is coming) to those who drag along wickedness with cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes [towing their own punishment]; 19Who say, “Let Him move speedily, let Him expedite His work [His promised vengeance], so that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel approach And come to pass, so that we may know it!” 20Woe (judgment is coming) to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:18 word by word

ה֛וֹי מֹשְׁכֵ֥י הֶֽעָוֹ֖ן בְּחַבְלֵ֣י הַשָּׁ֑וְא וְכַעֲב֥וֹת הָעֲגָלָ֖ה חַטָּאָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• unto them that drawמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
• iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• with cordsחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• of vanityשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
• and sinחַטָּאָהchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• as it were with a cartעֲגָלָה‛ăgâlâh · cartH5699
• ropeעֲבֹת‛ăbôth ‛ăbôth ‛ăbôthâh · cordH5688

Cross-references for Isaiah 5:18

• Isaiah 28:15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have made an agreement, When the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not reach us, For we have made lies our refuge and we have concealed ourselves in deception.”
• Judges 17:5Now the man Micah had a house of gods (shrine), and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated and installed one of his sons, who became his [personal] priest.
• 2 Samuel 16:20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me your advice. What should we do?”
• Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God has [quite] forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see my deed.”
• Psalms 14:1The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds; There is no one who does good.
• Psalms 36:2For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes Thinking that his sinfulness will not be discovered and hated [by God].
• Psalms 94:5They crush Your people, O Lord, And afflict and abuse Your heritage.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love [to have] it so! But what will you do when the end comes?
• Jeremiah 8:5Why then has this people of Jerusalem Turned away with a perpetual turning away [from Me]? They hold tightly to deceit (idolatry); They refuse to repent and return [to God].
• Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of adulterers (unfaithful to God); The land mourns because of the curse [of God upon it]. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. The course of action [of the false prophets] is evil and they rush into wickedness; And their power is not right.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.
• Jeremiah 44:15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, and all the women who were standing by, a large group, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah, saying,
• Ezekiel 13:10It is definitely because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because when one builds a [flimsy] wall, behold, these [lying] prophets plaster it over with whitewash;
• Zephaniah 1:12It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps And I will punish the men Who [like old wine] are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.’
• John 16:2They will put you out of the synagogues and make you outcasts. And a time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God.
• Acts 26:9“So then, I [once] thought to myself that it was my duty to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

Commentaries on Isaiah 5:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18With a cart-rope "As a long cable" - The Septuagint, Aquila, Sym., and Theod., for בחבלי bechabley, read כחבלי kechahley, ̔ ͅ, or ; and the Septuagint, instead of שוא shau, read some other word signifying long; ̔ ͅ ͅ ; and so likewise the Syriac, אריכא arecha . Houbigant conjectures that the word which the Septuagint had in their copies was שרוע sarua, which is used Leviticus 21:18, Leviticus 22:23, for something in an animal body superfluous, lengthened…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Wo unto them … - This is a new denunciation. It introduces another form of sin, and threatens its appropriate punishment. That draw iniquity with cords of vanity - The general idea in this verse and the next, is, doubtless, that of plunging deeper and deeper into sin. The word “sin” here, has been sometimes supposed to mean “the punishment” for sin. The word has that meaning sometimes, but it seems here to be taken in its usual sense. The word “cords”…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-23Verses 8-23 Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways to empty the most populous cities. Those who set their hearts…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18God's ropes were "cords of kindness, with ropes of love" for Israel (Hosea 11:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Third Woe--against obstinate perseverance in sin, as if they wished to provoke divine judgments. iniquity--guilt, incurring punishment [Maurer]. cords, &c.--cart-rope--Rabbins say, "An evil inclination is at first like a fine hair-string, but the finishing like a cart-rope." The antithesis is between the slender cords of sophistry, like the spider's web (Is 59:5; Job 8:14), with which one sin draws on another, until they at last bind themselves with…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 5:18

• Backsliders
• Infidelity
• Isaiah
• Presumption
• Scoffing
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Cart
• Cast
• Cord
• Cry
• Dry
• Ensign
• Join
• Lay
• Mighty
• Regard

Commentaries on Isaiah 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings