Isaiah 50:3

Isaiah 50:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
• New International Version (NIV)I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth its covering.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering."
• New King James Version (NKJV)I clothe the heavens with blackness, And I make sackcloth their covering.”

Context of Isaiah 50:3

1The Lord declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.” 4The Lord God has given Me [His Servant] the tongue of disciples [as One who is taught], That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple [as One who is taught]. 5The Lord God has opened My ear, And I have not been rebellious Nor have I turned back.

Isaiah 50:3 word by word

אַלְבִּ֥ישׁ שָׁמַ֖יִם קַדְר֑וּת וְשַׂ֖ק אָשִׂ֥ים כְּסוּתָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I clotheלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• the heavensשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• with blacknessקַדְרוּתqadrûth · darknessH6940
• and I makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• their coveringכְּסוּתkesûth · coveringH3682

Cross-references for Isaiah 50:3

• Exodus 10:21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, so that darkness may come over the land of Egypt, a darkness which [is so awful that it] may be felt.”
• Psalms 18:11He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him, The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies.
• Matthew 27:45Now from the sixth hour (noon) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).
• Revelation 6:12I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

Commentaries on Isaiah 50:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3I clothe the heavens with blackness - With the dark clouds of a tempest - perhaps with an allusion to the remarkable clouds and tempests that encircled the brow of Sinai when he gave the law. Or possibly alluding to the thick darkness which he brought over the land of Egypt (Exodus 10:21; Grotius). In the previous verse, he had stated what he did on the earth, and referred to the exhibitions of his great power there. He here refers to the exhibition of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3People connected events like darkness and wearing mourning clothes with the day of the Lord (Isaiah 13:10; see study note on Isaiah 2:5–22). The mention of darkness might refer to the plague of darkness in Egypt (Exodus 10:21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. heavens ... blackness--another of the judgments on Egypt to be repeated hereafter on the last enemy of God's people (Ex 10:21). sackcloth--(Re 6:12).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 50:3

• Colors
• God
• Jesus Continued
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena

In the dictionaries

• Blackness
• Isaiah
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Saviour
• Sackcloth

Commentaries on Isaiah 50

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• 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