Isaiah 3:9

Isaiah 3:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
• New International Version (NIV)The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.

Context of Isaiah 3:9

7But the brother will refuse. He will say, “I cannot make things any better! There is no food or clothes in my house. Do not choose me as a leader of people.” ’ 8Jerusalem is falling down! The towns of Judah are in trouble! The Lord hates the things that their people say and the things that they do. They have turned against the Lord and they insult him. Their proud faces show that they are guilty. Their sins are as bad as the sins of Sodom's people. And they do not try to hide it! It will be very bad for them! They have caused great trouble for themselves. 10Tell the righteous people that they are in a good place. They will enjoy the results of the good things that they have done. 11But it will be very bad for the wicked people. They will receive the punishment that they deserve.

Isaiah 3:9 word by word

הַכָּרַ֤ת פְּנֵיהֶם֙ עָ֣נְתָה בָּ֔ם וְחַטָּאתָ֛ם כִּסְדֹ֥ם הִגִּ֖ידוּ לֹ֣א כִחֵ֑דוּ א֣וֹי לְנַפְשָׁ֔ם כִּֽי־גָמְל֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם רָעָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The shewהַכָּרָהhakkârâh · lookH1971
• of their countenanceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• doth witness against themעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• and they declareנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• their sinחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• as Sodomסְדֹםsedôm · SodomH5467
• they hideכָּחַדkâchad · to hideH3582
• not. Woeאוֹי'ôy · woe!H188
• unto their soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• for they have rewardedגָּמַלgâmal · to weanH1580
• evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451

Cross-references for Isaiah 3:9

• Isaiah 3:16The Lord says, ‘Zion's women are very proud. They walk with their heads up high. They turn their eyes towards the men and they have no shame. They like the men to look at them. They walk with small steps so that the rings on their ankles make a nice sound.
• 1 Samuel 15:32Then Samuel said, ‘Bring Agag, king of the Amalekites, to me.’ Agag came to Samuel. Agag was happy because he thought, ‘I am sure that now I will not have to die a painful death.’
• 2 Kings 9:30After that, Jehu went to Jezreel. Jezebel heard what had happened. So she made her eyes and her hair look beautiful. Then she looked out of a window in the palace.
• Psalms 10:4Wicked people are too proud to worry about God. They think, ‘God will not give me any trouble.’
• Psalms 73:6Their pride is like their necklace. They like to be cruel, as they like to wear clothes.
• Proverbs 30:13There are some people who are very proud. They look down on everyone else.
• Jeremiah 3:3That is why I have not sent any rain on your land. Even the spring rains have not come. But you still live like a proud prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
• Jeremiah 6:15They are not ashamed of the disgusting things that they do. They do not even know what shame is. They have forgotten how to be ashamed. So they will fall to the ground, as other people have fallen. When I decide to punish them, that will be the end of them.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Daniel 7:20I wanted to know the meaning of the ten horns on its head. I also wanted to know about the little horn that came up among them. It pushed out three of the other horns. This horn had eyes, and a mouth that spoke proud words. The little horn seemed to be greater than the other horns.
• Genesis 13:13The people of Sodom were very wicked. They did not obey the Lord at all.
• Genesis 18:20So the Lord said to Abraham, ‘I have heard how bad the people in Sodom and Gomorrah are. Everybody says that their sins are very bad.
• Genesis 19:5The men shouted to Lot, ‘Where are the men who are staying with you tonight? Bring them out here to us. We want to have sex with them.’
• Jeremiah 44:16‘We do not believe that your message really comes from the Lord.
• Ezekiel 23:16When Oholibah saw these pictures, she wanted the men to be her lovers. She sent messages to them in Babylonia.
• Lamentations 5:16And we have no king in Jerusalem any longer. We have sinned, so it will be very bad for us.
• Hosea 13:9I will destroy you, Israel. There will be nobody to help you.

Commentaries on Isaiah 3:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The show of their countenance - Bishop Lowth has it the steadfastness of their countenance - they appear to be bent on iniquity, their eyes tell the wickedness of their hearts. The eye is the index of the mind. Envy, hatred, malice, malevolence, concupiscence, and murder, when in the heart, look most intelligently out at the eye. They tell the innocent to be on their guard; and serve the same purpose as the sonorous rings in the tail of the rattlesnake…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9The show of their countenance - The word rendered “the show” is probably derived from a word signifying “to know,” or “to recognize,” and here denotes “impudence” or “pride.” Septuagint, The shame of their face.‘ Doth witness against them - “Answers” to them; or “responds” to them (ענתה ‛ânetâh ). There is a correspondence between the feeling of the heart and the looks, an “answering” of the countenance to the purposes of the soul that shows their true…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9The expression on their faces: At this time, the people openly defied God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. show--The Hebrew means, "that which may be known by their countenances" [Gesenius and Weiss]. But Maurer translates, "Their respect for person"; so Syriac and Chaldee. But the parallel word "declare" favors the other view. Kimchi, from the Arabic, translates "their hardness" (Job 19:3, Margin), or impudence of countenance (Jr 3:3). They have lost not only the substance of virtue, but its color. witness--literally, "corresponds" to them; their look…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 3:9

• Character
• Countenance
• Face
• Physiognomy
• Sin
• Sodom
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Sodom
• Ancient
• Base
• Bravery
• Cunning
• Fruit
• Girding
• Grind
• Ornament
• Stay

Commentaries on Isaiah 3

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings