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,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
• New Living Translation (NLT)What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!

Context of Isaiah 5:18

16But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. 17Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich. Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, 19who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!" 20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:18 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• unto them that drawמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
• iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• with cordsחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• of vanityשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
• and sinחַטָּאָהchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• as it were with a cartעֲגָלָה‛ăgâlâh · cartH5699
• ropeעֲבֹת‛ăbôth ‛ăbôth ‛ăbôthâh · cordH5688

Cross-references for Isaiah 5:18

• Isaiah 28:15Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter";
• Judges 17:5And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
• 2 Samuel 16:20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your counsel. What shall we do?"
• Psalms 10:11He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."
• Psalms 14:1The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
• Psalms 36:2For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
• Psalms 94:5They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage.
• Jeremiah 5:31the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?
• Jeremiah 8:5Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast 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 are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right.
• Jeremiah 28:15And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.
• Jeremiah 44:15Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:
• Ezekiel 13:10Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,
• Zephaniah 1:12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.'
• John 16:2They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
• Acts 26:9"I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing 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