English Standard Version
Isaiah 59:4
4No 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.
Context of Isaiah 59:4
2but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 3For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness. 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. 5They hatch adders' eggs; they weave the spider's web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched. 6Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
Read all of Isaiah 59Isaiah 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 no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.
- Jeremiah 5:1Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.
- Ezekiel 22:29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
- Micah 7:2The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net.
- Isaiah 30:12Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them,
- Job 15:31Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment.
- Psalms 62:10Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
- Jeremiah 7:4Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.'
- Isaiah 59:3For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.
- Psalms 62:4They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah
- Isaiah 59:13transgressing, and denying the Lord, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
- Job 15:35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit."
- Psalms 7:13he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
- Proverbs 4:16For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
- Micah 2:1Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- James 1:15Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries