Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 29:15
15Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
Isaiah 29:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
- New International Version (NIV)Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
Context of Isaiah 29:15
13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men. 14Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.” Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?” 16You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of the potter, “He has no understanding”? 17In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
Read all of Isaiah 29Isaiah 29:15 word by word
ה֛וֹי הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥ים מֵֽיהוָ֖ה לַסְתִּ֣ר עֵצָ֑ה וְהָיָ֤ה בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙ מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מִ֥י רֹאֵ֖נוּ וּמִ֥י יוֹדְעֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- to those who dig deepעָמֹק‛âmaq · be deepH6009
- to hideסָתַרsâthar · to hideH5641
- their plansעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
- their plansהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- from the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- In darknessמַחְשָׁךְmachshâk · darknessH4285
- they do their worksמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
- and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Whoמִיmîy · who?H4310
- sees usרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- will knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
Cross-references for Isaiah 29:15
- Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
- Isaiah 28:15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”
- Isaiah 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Job 22:13Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?
- Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
- Psalms 64:5They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
- Psalms 139:1O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
- Jeremiah 23:24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 8:12“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”
- Ezekiel 9:9He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’
- Zephaniah 1:12And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’
- Revelation 2:23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
- Job 24:13Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
- Job 34:22There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.
- Luke 12:1In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- John 3:19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
Commentaries on Isaiah 29:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Woe unto them that seek deep - That is, who attempt to conceal their “real” intentions under a plausible exterior, and correct outward deportment. This is most strikingly descriptive of the character of a hypocrite who seeks to conceal his plans and his purposes from the eyes of people and of God. His external conduct is fair; his observance of the duties of religion exemplary; his attendance on the means of grace and the worship of God regular; his…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-16Verses 9-16 The security of sinners in sinful ways, is cause for lamentation and wonder. The learned men, through prejudice, said that the Divine prophecies were obscure; and the poor urged their want of learning. The Bible is a sealed book to every man, learned or unlearned, till he begins to study it with a simple heart and a teachable spirit, that he may thence learn the truth and the will of God. To worship God, is to approach him. And if the heart be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15Their plans might refer to the advice that royal counselors were giving Hezekiah, who at first attempted to free himself from Assyria by making alliances with Egypt (in 715 or 701 BC). The people secretly planned evil deeds, but God saw everything.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. seek deep to hide--rather, "That seek to hide deeply," &c. (compare Is 30:1, 2). The reference is to the secret plan which many of the Jewish nobles had of seeking Egyptian aid against Assyria, contrary to the advice of Isaiah. At the same time the hypocrite in general is described, who, under a plausible exterior, tries to hide his real character, not only from men, but even from God.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 29:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 29
- 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
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