Isaiah 59:4

Isaiah 59:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
• New International Version (NIV)No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
• English Standard Version (ESV)No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.

Context of Isaiah 59:4

2But the wrong things that you have done have made you separate from your God. Your sins have caused him to turn away from you, so that he does not listen to your prayers. 3Your hands are dirty with the blood of murder. They are dirty with all the bad things that you do. Your mouth tells lies, and it says wicked things about other people. When people accuse somebody in court, the truth is not important. They tell lies and they deceive the judge, so that they will win. They decide how they can cause trouble, and then they do wicked things. 5Their thoughts are like the eggs of a snake. If anyone eats those eggs, they will die! When an egg breaks open, a dangerous snake is born! They like to catch people, like a spider that makes a web. 6Their webs are useless to make clothes. They cannot cover themselves with them. The things that they do are useless like that. They do only wicked things. They use their strength only to hurt people.

Isaiah 59:4 word by word

אֵין־קֹרֵ֣א בְצֶ֔דֶק וְאֵ֥ין נִשְׁפָּ֖ט בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה בָּט֤וֹחַ עַל־תֹּ֙הוּ֙ וְדַבֶּר־שָׁ֔וְא הָר֥וֹ עָמָ֖ל וְהוֹלֵ֥יד אָֽוֶן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• None callethקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• for justiceצֶ֫דֶקtsedeq · righteousnessH6664
• pleadethשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• for truthאֱמוּנָה'ĕmûnâh 'ĕmûnâh · faithfulnessH530
• they trustבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
• in vanityתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
• and speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• liesשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
• they conceiveהָרָהhârâh · to conceiveH2029
• mischiefעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• and bring forthיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• iniquityאָ֫וֶן'âven · evil: wickednessH205

Cross-references for Isaiah 59:4

• Isaiah 59:16He saw that there was nobody who would help, and he was very upset. So he used his own strength to help. Because he had to do what was right, he made his people safe.
• Jeremiah 5:1The Lord said, ‘Run along all the streets of Jerusalem. Look carefully all around you. Look in all the public places of the city. Try to find one person who is honest. Try to find one person who wants to know the truth. If you find one person like that, I will forgive all the people in the city.
• Ezekiel 22:29The people in the land make people give them money. They rob people. They are cruel to poor people and to weak people. They cheat foreign people who live among them. They do not allow them to have justice.
• Micah 7:2There are no longer any people here who obey God. There are no good, honest people. Everyone is waiting to kill someone else. They are all like hunters, who try to catch each other.
• Isaiah 30:12Because of that, this is what the Holy God of Israel says: ‘You have not accepted my message. Instead, you like to be cruel and to deceive people. You believe that it will help you.
• Job 15:31He may trust in useless things to save him. But he is deceiving himself. Any help that he receives will also be useless.
• Psalms 62:10Do not cheat people, or rob them to get money! That will not give you anything that you can trust to help you. Even if you become very rich, do not think it is important.
• Jeremiah 7:4People may say, ‘We are safe here! This is the temple of the Lord. It is the temple of the Lord!’ But the people who say that are deceiving you. Do not trust them.
• Isaiah 59:3Your hands are dirty with the blood of murder. They are dirty with all the bad things that you do. Your mouth tells lies, and it says wicked things about other people.
• Psalms 62:4You only want to push me off my high place. You love to tell lies to deceive people. When you say words to bless people, you are cursing them in your thoughts. Selah.
• Isaiah 59:13We have turned against the Lord. We have refused to obey him. We have chosen to be cruel to other people, and we have turned against the truth. We think about the lies that we can tell, and we use them to deceive people.
• Job 15:35They make plans to cause trouble, so that evil things happen. Lies are what come out from inside them.’
• Psalms 7:13He will prepare his dangerous weapons. He is ready to shoot his arrows that burn with fire.
• Proverbs 4:16Wicked people have to do evil things. They cannot go to sleep unless they have been cruel to someone that day.
• Micah 2:1Micah continues: People who prepare to do bad things should be afraid. God will do bad things to them! While they lie in bed, they think about bad things to do. Then, when the morning comes, they do those bad things. They have the authority to do whatever they want to do.
• James 1:15We may agree to do what our bad thoughts tell us to do. When we do that, it becomes a sin. Then, we may not stop doing those bad things. If we continue to live like that, the result of our sins is death.

Commentaries on Isaiah 59:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity - There is a curious propriety in this mode of expression; a thought or purpose is compared to conception; a word or act, which is the consequence of it, to the birth of a child. From the third to the fifteenth verse inclusive may be considered a true statement of the then moral state of the Jewish people; and that they were, in the most proper sense of the word, guilty of the iniquities with which they are…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4None calleth for justice - Or rather, there is no one who brings a suit with justice; no one who goes into court for the purpose of obtaining justice. There is a love of litigation; a desire to take all the advantage which the law can give; a desire to appeal to the law, not for the sake of having strict justice done, but for the sake of doing injury to others, and to take some undue advantage. Nor any pleadeth for truth - Or, no one pleadeth with truth…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4calls for justice: Israel did not practice these qualities that are part of God’s nature and that he expects from people (Isaiah 1:21; see 25:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Rather, "No one calleth an adversary into court with justice," that is, None bringeth a just suit: "No one pleadeth with truth." they trust ... iniquity--(So Job 15:35; Psa 7:14).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 59:4

• Character
• Falsehood
• Malice
• Sin
• Truth
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Cloke
• Grope
• Heavy
• Iniquity
• Mutter
• Revolt
• Isaiah
• Lie; Lying
• Plead
• Saviour

Commentaries on Isaiah 59

• 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