God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 59:8
8They don’t know the way of peace. There’s no justice on their highways. They’ve made their paths crooked. Whoever walks on them will never know 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Isaiah 59:8
6Their webs can’t be used for clothes, nor can they cover themselves with their works. Their works are evil. Their hands have committed acts of violence. 7Their feet run to do evil. They hurry to shed innocent blood. Their plans are evil. Ruin and destruction are on their highways. They don’t know the way of peace. There’s no justice on their highways. They’ve made their paths crooked. Whoever walks on them will never know peace. 9That is why justice is far from us, and righteousness doesn’t reach us. We hope for light, but we walk in darkness. We hope for brightness, but we walk in gloom. 10We grope like blind men along a wall. We grope like people without eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. We are like dead people among healthy people.
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 3:17⌞Wisdom’s⌟ ways are pleasant ways, and all its paths lead to peace.
- Luke 1:79He will give light to those who live in the dark and in death’s shadow. He will guide us into the way of peace.”
- Romans 3:17They have not learned to live in peace.
- Isaiah 59:14Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away. Truth has fallen in the street, and honesty can’t come in.
- Isaiah 5:7The vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the garden of his delight. He hoped for justice but saw only slaughter, for righteousness but heard only cries of distress.
- Jeremiah 5:1Walk around the streets of Jerusalem. Look around, and think about these things. Search the city squares. See if you can find anyone who does what is right and seeks the truth. Then I will forgive Jerusalem.
- Hosea 4:1Listen to the Lord’s word, you Israelites. The Lord has brought these charges against those who live in the land: “There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of God in the land.
- Amos 6:1How horrible it will be for those who are at ease in Zion, for those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, and for the heads of the leading nations, to whom the nation of Israel comes.
- Matthew 23:23“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses’ Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others.
- Psalms 58:1Do you rulers really give fair verdicts? Do you judge Adam’s descendants fairly?
- Psalms 125:5But when people become crooked, the Lord will lead them away with troublemakers. Let there be peace in Israel!
- Proverbs 2:15Their paths are crooked. Their ways are devious.
- Proverbs 28:18Whoever lives honestly will be safe. Whoever lives dishonestly will fall all at once.
- Isaiah 48:22“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
- Isaiah 57:20But the wicked are like the churning sea. It isn’t quiet, and its water throws up mud and slime.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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