Isaiah 9:15

Isaiah 9:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
• New International Version (NIV)the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
• English Standard Version (ESV)the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
• New King James Version (NKJV)The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

Context of Isaiah 9:15

13Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. 14So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day. The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. 16For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. 17Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Isaiah 9:15 word by word

זָקֵ֥ן וּנְשׂוּא־פָנִ֖ים ה֣וּא הָרֹ֑אשׁ וְנָבִ֥יא מֽוֹרֶה־שֶּׁ֖קֶר ה֥וּא הַזָּנָֽב׃Read the interlinear

• The headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• the elderזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• and honorableפָּנֶהpânîym · face: kindnessH6440
• and honorableנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: kindnessH5375
• And the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• who teachesיָרָהyârâh yârâ' · to showH3384
• falsehoodשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• is the tailזָנָבzânâb · tailH2180

Cross-references for Isaiah 9:15

• Isaiah 3:5And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable.
• Isaiah 5:13Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.
• 1 Samuel 9:6He said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.”
• Isaiah 28:17I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.
• Isaiah 29:10For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers.
• 1 Kings 13:18He said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.
• 1 Kings 22:22The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?
• Jeremiah 14:14Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.
• Jeremiah 23:9As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of the Lord And because of His holy words.
• Jeremiah 27:9But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
• Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.
• Jeremiah 29:21“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes.
• Ezekiel 13:1Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
• Hosea 9:8Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God.
• Malachi 2:9“So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.

Commentaries on Isaiah 9:15

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The ancient - The elder; the old man. And honorable - Hebrew, The man of elevated countenance.‘ The man of rank and office. The prophet that teacheth lies - The false prophet. Of those there were many; and probably at this time many in Samaria.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-21Verses 8-21 Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-17God used punishment to call his people to repentance. Repentance means turning away from sin and turning back to God. His goal was not to destroy Israel, but to correct them and bring them back to himself. However, Israel had become apostate. This means they had turned away from the Lord and rejected him. They refused to repent or to seek the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1713-17. Second strophe. turneth not--the design of God's chastisements; not fulfilled in their case; a new cause for punishment (Jr 2:20; 5:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 9:15

• Backsliders
• Isaiah
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Ahaz
• Increase
• Kindle
• Poetry
• Prince
• Snatch
• Ezekiel
• Head
• Honorable
• Isaiah

Commentaries on Isaiah 9

• 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