New English Translation
Isaiah 29:21
21those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.
Isaiah 29:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
- New International Version (NIV)those who with a word make someone out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.
- English Standard Version (ESV)who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Who make a man an offender by a word, And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just by empty words.
Context of Isaiah 29:21
19The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord; the poor among humankind will take delight in the Holy One of Israel. 20For tyrants will disappear, those who taunt will vanish, and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated – those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. 22So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: “Jacob will no longer be ashamed; their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. 23For when they see their children, whom I will produce among them, they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel.
Read all of Isaiah 29Isaiah 29:21 word by word
מַחֲטִיאֵ֤י אָדָם֙ בְּדָבָ֔ר וְלַמּוֹכִ֥יחַ בַּשַּׁ֖עַר יְקֹשׁ֑וּן וַיַּטּ֥וּ בַתֹּ֖הוּ צַדִּֽיק׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- That make a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- an offenderחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- for a wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- and lay a snareקוּשׁqôsh · to lureH6983
- for him that reprovethיָכַחyâkach · to rebukeH3198
- in the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- and turn asideנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- the justצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- for a thing of noughtתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
Cross-references for Isaiah 29:21
- Judges 12:6then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell dead.
- Matthew 22:15Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.
- Luke 11:53When he went out from there, the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, and to ask him hostile questions about many things,
- Jeremiah 18:18Then some people said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
- Jeremiah 20:7Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.
- Jeremiah 26:2The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word!
- Amos 5:10The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
- Amos 7:10Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! The land cannot endure all his prophecies.
- Micah 2:6‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. ‘These prophets should not preach of such things; we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’
- Proverbs 28:21To show partiality is terrible, for a person will transgress over the smallest piece of bread.
- Ezekiel 13:19You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!
- Amos 5:11Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.
- Malachi 3:5“I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
- Matthew 26:15and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him.
- Acts 3:14But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you.
- James 5:6You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.
Commentaries on Isaiah 29:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Him that reproveth in the gate "Him that pleaded in the gate" - "They are heard by the treasurer, master of the horse, and other principal officers of the regency of Algiers, who sit constantly in the gate of the palace for that purpose:" that is, the distribution of justice. - Shaw's Travels, p. 315, fol. He adds in the note, "That we read of the elders in the gate. Deuteronomy 21:15; Deuteronomy 25:7; and, Isaiah 29:21; Amos 5:10, of him that reproveth…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21That make a man an offender - literally, who cause a man to sin‘ (מחטיאי machăṭı̂y'ēy ); that is, who hold a man to be guilty, or a criminal. Lowth renders this singularly enough: Who bewildered the poor man in speaking.‘ Grotius supposes it means, Who on account of the word of God, that is, the true prophecy, treat men as guilty of crime.‘ Calvin supposes it means, Who bear with impatience the reproofs and denunciation of the prophets, and who…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-24Verses 17-24 The wonderful change here foretold, may refer to the affairs of Judah, though it looks further. When a great harvest of souls was gathered to Christ from among the Gentiles, then the wilderness was turned into a fruitful field; and the Jewish church, that had long been a fruitful field, became as a deserted forest. Those who, when in trouble, can truly rejoice in God, shall soon have cause greatly to rejoice in him. The grace of meekness…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The false testimony that led to the oppression of the poor through trickery in the courts of Isaiah’s era would end. Because of God’s work in their hearts, the people would turn from their sinful behavior of the past.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Rather, "Who make a man guilty in his cause" [Gesenius], that is, unjustly condemn him. "A man" is in the Hebrew a poor man, upon whom such unjust condemnations might be practiced with more impunity than on the rich; compare Is 29:19, "the meek ... the poor." him that reproveth--rather, "pleadeth"; one who has a suit at issue. gate--the place of concourse in a city, where courts of justice were held (Ru 4:11; Pr 31:23; Am 5:10, 12). just--one who has…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 29:21
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries