Isaiah 5:18

Isaiah 5:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
• New International Version (NIV)Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;

Context of Isaiah 5:18

16The Lord who commands armies will be exalted when he punishes, the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. 17Lambs will graze as if in their pastures, amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze. Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes. 19They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!” 20Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.

Isaiah 5:18 word by word

ה֛וֹי מֹשְׁכֵ֥י הֶֽעָוֹ֖ן בְּחַבְלֵ֣י הַשָּׁ֑וְא וְכַעֲב֥וֹת הָעֲגָלָ֖ה חַטָּאָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• unto them that drawמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
• iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• with cordsחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• of vanityשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
• and sinחַטָּאָהchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• as it were with a cartעֲגָלָה‛ăgâlâh · cartH5699
• ropeעֲבֹת‛ăbôth ‛ăbôth ‛ăbôthâh · cordH5688

Cross-references for Isaiah 5:18

• 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.”
• Judges 17:5Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.
• 2 Samuel 16:20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”
• Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God overlooks it; he does not pay attention; he never notices.”
• Psalms 14:1Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” They sin and commit evil deeds; none of them does what is right.
• Psalms 36:2for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin.
• Psalms 94:5O Lord, they crush your people; they oppress the nation that belongs to you.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!
• Jeremiah 8:5Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me.
• Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. So the land is dried up because it is under his curse. The pastures in the wilderness are withered.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie!
• Jeremiah 44:15Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered,
• Ezekiel 13:10“‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash.
• 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.’
• John 16:2They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
• Acts 26:9Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene.

Commentaries on Isaiah 5:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18With a cart-rope "As a long cable" - The Septuagint, Aquila, Sym., and Theod., for בחבלי bechabley, read כחבלי kechahley, ̔ ͅ, or ; and the Septuagint, instead of שוא shau, read some other word signifying long; ̔ ͅ ͅ ; and so likewise the Syriac, אריכא arecha . Houbigant conjectures that the word which the Septuagint had in their copies was שרוע sarua, which is used Leviticus 21:18, Leviticus 22:23, for something in an animal body superfluous, lengthened…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Wo unto them … - This is a new denunciation. It introduces another form of sin, and threatens its appropriate punishment. That draw iniquity with cords of vanity - The general idea in this verse and the next, is, doubtless, that of plunging deeper and deeper into sin. The word “sin” here, has been sometimes supposed to mean “the punishment” for sin. The word has that meaning sometimes, but it seems here to be taken in its usual sense. The word “cords”…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-23Verses 8-23 Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways to empty the most populous cities. Those who set their hearts…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18God's ropes were "cords of kindness, with ropes of love" for Israel (Hosea 11:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Third Woe--against obstinate perseverance in sin, as if they wished to provoke divine judgments. iniquity--guilt, incurring punishment [Maurer]. cords, &c.--cart-rope--Rabbins say, "An evil inclination is at first like a fine hair-string, but the finishing like a cart-rope." The antithesis is between the slender cords of sophistry, like the spider's web (Is 59:5; Job 8:14), with which one sin draws on another, until they at last bind themselves with…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 5:18

• Backsliders
• Infidelity
• Isaiah
• Presumption
• Scoffing
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Cart
• Cast
• Cord
• Cry
• Dry
• Ensign
• Join
• Lay
• Mighty
• Regard

Commentaries on Isaiah 5

• 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