New English Translation
Isaiah 29:15
15Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, who do their work in secret and boast, “Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”
Isaiah 29:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
- New International Version (NIV)Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
Context of Isaiah 29:15
13The sovereign master says, “These people say they are loyal to me; they say wonderful things about me, but they are not really loyal to me. Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual. 14Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people – an absolutely extraordinary deed. Wise men will have nothing to say, the sages will have no explanations.” Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, who do their work in secret and boast, “Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” 16Your thinking is perverse! Should the potter be regarded as clay? Should the thing made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”? Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”? 17In just a very short time Lebanon will turn into an orchard, and the orchard will be considered a forest.
Read all of Isaiah 29Isaiah 29:15 word by word
ה֛וֹי הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥ים מֵֽיהוָ֖ה לַסְתִּ֣ר עֵצָ֑ה וְהָיָ֤ה בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙ מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מִ֥י רֹאֵ֖נוּ וּמִ֥י יוֹדְעֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- unto them that seek deepעָמֹק‛âmaq · be deepH6009
- to hideסָתַרsâthar · to hideH5641
- their counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
- from the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and their worksמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
- are in the darkמַחְשָׁךְmachshâk · darknessH4285
- and they sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Who seethרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- us? and who knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
Cross-references for Isaiah 29:15
- Isaiah 5:18Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes.
- Isaiah 28:15For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”
- Isaiah 30:1“The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the Lord, “those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin.
- Job 22:13But you have said, ‘What does God know? Does he judge through such deep darkness?
- Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God overlooks it; he does not pay attention; he never notices.”
- Psalms 64:5They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. They plan how to hide snares, and boast, “Who will see them?”
- Psalms 139:1O Lord, you examine me and know.
- Jeremiah 23:24“Do you really think anyone can hide himself where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. “Do you not know that I am everywhere?” the Lord asks.
- Ezekiel 8:12He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’”
- Ezekiel 9:9He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’
- Zephaniah 1:12At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps. I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, those who think to themselves, ‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’
- Revelation 2:23Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.
- Job 24:13There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths.
- Job 34:22There is no darkness, and no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves.
- Luke 12:1Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- John 3:19Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.
Commentaries on Isaiah 29:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Woe unto them that seek deep - That is, who attempt to conceal their “real” intentions under a plausible exterior, and correct outward deportment. This is most strikingly descriptive of the character of a hypocrite who seeks to conceal his plans and his purposes from the eyes of people and of God. His external conduct is fair; his observance of the duties of religion exemplary; his attendance on the means of grace and the worship of God regular; his…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-16Verses 9-16 The security of sinners in sinful ways, is cause for lamentation and wonder. The learned men, through prejudice, said that the Divine prophecies were obscure; and the poor urged their want of learning. The Bible is a sealed book to every man, learned or unlearned, till he begins to study it with a simple heart and a teachable spirit, that he may thence learn the truth and the will of God. To worship God, is to approach him. And if the heart be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15Their plans might refer to the advice that royal counselors were giving Hezekiah, who at first attempted to free himself from Assyria by making alliances with Egypt (in 715 or 701 BC). The people secretly planned evil deeds, but God saw everything.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. seek deep to hide--rather, "That seek to hide deeply," &c. (compare Is 30:1, 2). The reference is to the secret plan which many of the Jewish nobles had of seeking Egyptian aid against Assyria, contrary to the advice of Isaiah. At the same time the hypocrite in general is described, who, under a plausible exterior, tries to hide his real character, not only from men, but even from God.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 29:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 29
- 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
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