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 by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. 17Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy. Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, 19to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!” 20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.

Isaiah 5:18 word by word

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

• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• to those who drawמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
• iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• with cordsחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• of deceitשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
• and pull sin alongחַטָּאָהchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• with cartעֲגָלָה‛ăgâlâh · cartH5699
• ropesעֲבֹת‛ăbôth ‛ăbôth ‛ăbôthâh · cordH5688

Cross-references for Isaiah 5:18

• 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.”
• Judges 17:5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.
• 2 Samuel 16:20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me counsel. What should we do?”
• Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
• Psalms 14:1The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.
• Psalms 36:2For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin.
• Psalms 94:5They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
• Jeremiah 8:5Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
• Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of adulterers— because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up— their course is evil and their power is misused.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
• Jeremiah 44:15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,
• Ezekiel 13:10Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
• 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.’
• John 16:2They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
• Acts 26:9So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose 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