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

1This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens in black and make sackcloth their covering.” 4The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. 5The Lord GOD has opened My ears, 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

• I clotheלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• the heavensשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• in blackקַדְרוּתqadrûth · darknessH6940
• and 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 heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”
• Psalms 18:11He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
• Matthew 27:45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
• Revelation 6:12And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,

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