New American Standard Bible 2020
Isaiah 64:6
6For all of us have become like one who is 1unclean, And all our 2righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us 3wither like a leaf, And our 4wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah 64:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
- New International Version (NIV)All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
- English Standard Version (ESV)We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
Context of Isaiah 64:6
4For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of one who waits for Him. 5You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in our sins for a long time; Yet shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away. 7There is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have surrendered us to the power of our wrongdoings. 8But now, Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the work of Your hand.
Read all of Isaiah 64Isaiah 64:6 word by word
וַנְּהִ֤י כַטָּמֵא֙ כֻּלָּ֔נוּ וּכְבֶ֥גֶד עִדִּ֖ים כָּל־צִדְקֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַנָּ֤בֶל כֶּֽעָלֶה֙ כֻּלָּ֔נוּ וַעֲוֹנֵ֖נוּ כָּר֥וּחַ יִשָּׂאֻֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
- For allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
- of us have becomeהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
- righteousצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
- garmentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- witherנָבֵלnâbêl · to witherH5034
- like a leafעָלֶה‛âleh · leafH5929
- wrongdoingsעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
- like the windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
- takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
Cross-references for Isaiah 64:6
- Isaiah 6:5Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.”
- Isaiah 53:6All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all To fall on Him.
- Job 14:4Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!
- Job 15:14What is man, that he would be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?
- Job 25:4How then can mankind be righteous with God? Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure?
- Job 40:4“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I say in response to You? I put my hand on my mouth.
- Job 42:5I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;
- Psalms 51:5Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.
- Romans 7:18For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
- Ephesians 2:1And you were dead in your offenses and sins,
- Isaiah 57:12I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, And they will not benefit you.
- Zechariah 3:3Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel.
- Philippians 3:9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
- Revelation 3:17Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,
- Revelation 7:13Then one of the elders responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?”
- Isaiah 40:6A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
Commentaries on Isaiah 64:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6As filthy rags - עדים iddim . Rab. Mosheh ben Maimon interpretatur עדים iddim, vestes quibus mulier se abstergit post congressum cum marito suo. Alii pannus menstruatus. Alii panni mulieris parientis. - And we ben made as unclene alle we: and as the cloth of the woman rooten blode flowing, all our rigtwisnesses. - Old MS. Bible. If preachers knew properly the meaning of this word, would they make such a liberal use of it in their public ministry? And why…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6But we are all as an unclean thing - We are all polluted and defiled. The word used here (טמא ṭâmē' ), means properly that which is polluted and defiled in a Levitical sense; that is, which was regarded as polluted and abominable by the law of Moses Leviticus 5:2; Deuteronomy 14:19, and may refer to animals, people, or things; also in a moral sense Job 14:4. The sense is, that they regarded themselves as wholly polluted and depraved. And all our…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-12Verses 6-12 The people of God, in affliction, confess and bewail their sins, owning themselves unworthy of his mercy. Sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Our deeds, whatever they may seem to be, if we think to merit by them at God's hand, are as rags, and will not cover us; filthy rags, and will but defile us. Even our few good works in which there is real excellence, as fruits of the Spirit, are so defective and defiled as done by us, that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6we remain in our sins … like something unclean: See also Isaiah 59:1–15. The only hope for salvation and transformation is through Jesus Christ (see Romans 7:25–8:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. unclean thing--legally unclean, as a leper. True of Israel, everywhere now cut off by unbelief and by God's judgments from the congregation of the saints. righteousness--plural, "uncleanness" extended to every particular act of theirs, even to their prayers and praises. True of the best doings of the unregenerate (Php 3:6-8; Tit 1:15; He 11:6). filthy rags--literally, a "menstruous rag" (Le 15:33; 20:18; La 1:17). fade ... leaf--(Psa 90:5, 6).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 64:6
In the dictionaries
Notes
Commentaries on Isaiah 64
- 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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries