English Standard Version
Isaiah 59:8
8The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.
Isaiah 59:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
- New International Version (NIV)The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.
Context of Isaiah 59:8
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. 7Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace. 9Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. 10We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
Read all of Isaiah 59Isaiah 59:8 word by word
דֶּ֤רֶךְ שָׁלוֹם֙ לֹ֣א יָדָ֔עוּ וְאֵ֥ין מִשְׁפָּ֖ט בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתָ֑ם נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ עִקְּשׁ֣וּ לָהֶ֔ם כֹּ֚ל דֹּרֵ֣ךְ בָּ֔הּ לֹ֥א יָדַ֖ע שָׁלֽוֹם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- of peaceשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peaceH7965
- they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- no judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- in their goingsמַעְגָּלma‛gâl ma‛gâlâh · trackH4570
- they have made them crookedעָקַשׁ‛âqash · to twistH6140
- pathsנְתִיבָהnâthîyb nethîybâh nethibâh · pathH5410
- whosoever goethדָּרַךְdârak · to treadH1869
Cross-references for Isaiah 59:8
- Proverbs 3:17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
- Luke 1:79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
- Romans 3:17and the way of peace they have not known."
- Isaiah 59:14Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.
- Isaiah 5:7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!
- 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.
- Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;
- Amos 6:1"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!
- Matthew 23:23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
- Psalms 125:5But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!
- Proverbs 2:15men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.
- Proverbs 28:18Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
- Isaiah 48:22"There is no peace," says the Lord, "for the wicked."
- Isaiah 57:20But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
Commentaries on Isaiah 59:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace "Whoever goeth in them knoweth not peace" - For בה bah, singular, read בם bam, plural, with the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and Chaldee. The ה he is upon a rasure in one MS. Or, for נתיבתיהם nethibotheyhem, plural, we must read נתיבתם nethibatham, singular, as it is in an ancient MS., to preserve the grammatical concord. - L.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The way of peace they know not - The phrase way of peace‘ may denote either peace of conscience, peace with God, peace among themselves, or peace with their fellow-men. Possibly it may refer to all these; and the sense will be, that in their whole lives they were strangers to true contentment and happiness. From no quarter had they peace, but whether in relation to God, to their own consciences, to each other, or to their fellow-men, they were involved in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8Paul quotes these verses when he describes the sinfulness of all people. He shows that everyone has turned away from God and does what is wrong (Romans 3:15–17). ruin and destruction: The people complained that others were treating them unfairly (Isaiah 51:19). They said they were suffering under oppression. But they were also treating other people unfairly. They had become oppressors themselves.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. peace--whether in relation to God, to their own conscience, or to their fellow men (Is 57:20, 21). judgment--justice. crooked--the opposite of "straightforward" (Pr 2:15; 28:18).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 59:8
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