Isaiah 1:4

Isaiah 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
• New International Version (NIV)Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.

Context of Isaiah 1:4

2Hear the Lord, those who live in heaven! Listen to him, you people on the earth! Listen carefully because the Lord has spoken! He says, ‘I have helped my children to grow. I took care of them but now they have turned against me! 3An ox knows its master. A donkey knows the place where its master feeds it. But Israel's people do not know me. My people do not understand me.’ Oh! Israel, you are a nation of people who do not obey me. The people are guilty of many evil things. Their sins are like a heavy weight on their backs. They are a family of people who do wicked things. They have turned away from the Lord, the Holy God of Israel. They have turned their backs against him. 5You continue to fight against God. Why do you do that? God will continue to punish you. You are weak and you hurt all over. Your mind and your body have great pain. 6From the bottom of your feet, to the top of your head, everywhere hurts! There are wounds all over your body that are still bleeding. Nobody has cleaned your wounds or covered them. Nobody has put olive oil on them to make them better.

Isaiah 1:4 word by word

ה֣וֹי׀ גּ֣וֹי חֹטֵ֗א עַ֚ם כֶּ֣בֶד עָוֹ֔ן זֶ֣רַע מְרֵעִ֔ים בָּנִ֖ים מַשְׁחִיתִ֑ים עָזְב֣וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֗ה נִֽאֲצ֛וּ אֶת־קְד֥וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נָזֹ֥רוּ אָחֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ahהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• sinfulחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• a peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• ladenכָּבֵדkâbêd · heavyH3515
• with iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• a seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
• of evildoersרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
• childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• that are corruptersשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• they have forsakenאֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• they have forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• they have provokedנָאַץnâ'ats · to spurnH5006
• the Holy Oneקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• they are gone awayזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• backwardאָחוֹר'âchôr 'âchôr · backH268

Cross-references for Isaiah 1:4

• Isaiah 1:23Your rulers have turned against God. They are friends of robbers. They all accept bribes and they love to receive gifts. But they do not help widows or children who have no family. They do not make sure that they receive justice.
• Isaiah 10:6I send Assyria's army against a nation that does not serve God. I command them to attack the people with whom I am angry. I tell them to take that nation's valuable things for themselves. I tell them to walk all over them, as if they were walking on dirt in the streets.
• Isaiah 30:9These people have turned against the Lord. They are his children but they love to tell lies. They do not want to obey his law.
• Genesis 13:13The people of Sodom were very wicked. They did not obey the Lord at all.
• Matthew 11:28Come to me all of you who are tired. You are like people who have worked for a long time. You are like people who have carried heavy things. Come to me. If you do that, you will find a place to rest.
• Acts 7:51Then Stephen said, ‘You people do not want to obey God! You do not want to listen to God's true message. You are the same as your ancestors. Like them, you always fight against what the Holy Spirit says.
• Revelation 18:5They have done very many bad things. Their sins have reached as high as heaven. God has remembered to punish them.
• Isaiah 57:3The Lord says, ‘But you magicians, come here! You use magic to learn about future times. You are the family of an adulteress and a prostitute.
• Numbers 32:14Moses continued to say, ‘Now you are turning against God, as your fathers did. You are as bad as them! You will cause the Lord to be even more angry with the Israelites.
• Psalms 78:8So they would not be like their ancestors, who turned against God. Those people refused to obey God, and they did not trust him to be their guide.
• Jeremiah 7:26But my people did not listen to me. They have refused to obey me. They have continued to do evil things, even worse than their ancestors did.’
• Jeremiah 16:11Then you must tell them what I say: “It is because your ancestors turned against me. They went to other gods. They worshipped and they served those gods. They turned against me and they did not obey my law.
• Matthew 3:7Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to John. They wanted John to baptize them. He said to them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes. God is angry. You are trying to run away from him. But he will soon punish people like you.
• Matthew 23:33You are like a family of dangerous snakes! You will not be able to run away. God will surely punish you, and he will send you to hell.
• Jeremiah 2:33You are very clever. You can always find someone to love. Even prostitutes could learn something from you!
• Ezekiel 16:33Prostitutes receive money when they have sex with someone. Instead, you give gifts to all the men who have sex with you. You pay them to come from many different places to have sex with you.

Commentaries on Isaiah 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Ah sinful nation "Degenerate" - Five MSS., one of them ancient, read משחתים moschathim, without the first י yod, in hophal corrupted, not corrupters. See the same word in the same form, and in the same sense, Proverbs 25:26. Are corrupters "Are estranged" - Thirty-two MSS., five ancient, and two editions, read נזורו nazoru ; which reading determines the word to be from the root זור zur, to alienate, not from נזר nazar, to separate; so Kimchi understands…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Ah! sinful nation - The word rendered ah!‘ - הוי hôy - is not a mere exclamation, expressing astonishment. It is rather an interjection denouncing threatening, or punishment. Wo to the sinful nation.‘ Vulgate, Vae genti peccatrici.‘ The corruption pertained to the nation, and not merely to a part. It had become general. Laden with iniquity - The word translated “laden” - כבד kebed - denotes properly anything “heavy,” or burdensome; from כבד kâbad “to be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The term Holy One of Israel often appears in Isaiah as a title for the Lord. God is: the righteous and just King of heaven and earth (Isaiah 6:3–5), the incomparable God, meaning no one is like him (Isaiah 40:25), and the Redeemer (the one who rescues and saves) of his people (Isaiah 43:14). Because of this, it was a serious and foolish sin for Judah to reject him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. people--the peculiar designation of God's elect nation (Ho 1:10), that they should be "laden with iniquity" is therefore the more monstrous. Sin is a load (Psa 38:4; Mt 11:28). seed--another appellation of God's elect (Ge 12:7; Jr 2:21), designed to be a "holy seed" (Is 6:13), but, awful to say, "evildoers!" children--by adoption (Ho 11:1), yet "evildoers"; not only so, but "corrupters" of others (Ge 6:12); the climax. So "nation--people--seed…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 1:4

• Backsliders
• Church
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Holy One
• Ah!
• Convert
• Crib
• Eat
• Fade
• Harlot

Commentaries on Isaiah 1

• 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