Isaiah 59:15

Isaiah 59:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
• New International Version (NIV)Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.

Context of Isaiah 59:15

13We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 14Justice is driven back; godliness stands far off. Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter. Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, for there is no justice. 16He sees there is no advocate; he is shocked that no one intervenes. So he takes matters into his own hands; his desire for justice drives him on. 17He wears his desire for justice like body armor, and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. He puts on the garments of vengeance and wears zeal like a robe.

Isaiah 59:15 word by word

וַתְּהִ֤י הָֽאֱמֶת֙ נֶעְדֶּ֔רֶת וְסָ֥ר מֵרָ֖ע מִשְׁתּוֹלֵ֑ל וַיַּ֧רְא יְהוָ֛ה וַיֵּ֥רַע בְּעֵינָ֖יו כִּֽי־אֵ֥ין מִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: trueH571
• failethעָדַר‛âdar · to lackH5737
• departethסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: departH5493
• from evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• maketh himself a preyשָׁלַלshâlal · to lootH7997
• and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and it displeasedעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• and it displeasedיָרַעyâra‛ · quiverH3415
• no judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941

Cross-references for Isaiah 59:15

• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’ and are descended from Judah, who take oaths in the name of the Lord, and invoke the God of Israel – but not in an honest and just manner.
• Psalms 5:9For they do not speak the truth; their stomachs are like the place of destruction, their throats like an open grave, their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.
• Psalms 12:1Deliver, Lord! For the godly have disappeared; people of integrity have vanished.
• Jeremiah 5:1The Lord said, “Go up and down through the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and see for yourselves. Search through its public squares. See if any of you can find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. If you can, then I will not punish this city.
• Jeremiah 7:28So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore.
• Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God.
• Micah 7:2Faithful men have disappeared from the land; there are no godly men left. They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; they hunt their own brother with a net.
• Habakkuk 1:13You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?
• Acts 9:1Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats to murder the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest
• Romans 8:36As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
• Hebrews 11:36And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
• 1 John 3:11For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another,
• 2 Kings 9:11When Jehu rejoined his master’s servants, they asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.”
• Jeremiah 29:26“The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. He has put you in charge in the Lord’s temple of controlling any lunatic who pretends to be a prophet. And it is your duty to put any such person in the stocks with an iron collar around his neck.
• Hosea 9:7The time of judgment is about to arrive! The time of retribution is imminent! Let Israel know! The prophet is considered a fool – the inspired man is viewed as a madman – because of the multitude of your sins and your intense animosity.
• Mark 3:21When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 59:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15And the Lord saw it "And Jehovah saw it" - This third line of the stanza appears manifestly to me to be imperfect by the loss of a phrase. The reader will perhaps more perfectly conceive my idea of the matter if I endeavor to supply the supposed defect, I imagine it might have stood originally in this manner: - לו ויחר יהוה וירא lo veyachar Yehovah vaiyar משפט אין כי בעיניו וירע mishpat ein ki beeyinaiv veyera "And Jehovah saw it, and he was wroth; And it…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Yea, truth faileth - That is, it is not to be found, it is missing. The word used here (from עדר ‛âdar ) means “to be left, to remain” 2 Samuel 17:22; then “to be missing or lacking” 1 Samuel 30:19; Isaiah 40:26. Here it means that truth had no existence there. And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey - Margin, Is accounted mad.‘ Noyes renders this, And he that departeth from evil is plundered.‘ Grotius renders it, The innocent man lies open…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 If we shut our eyes against the light of Divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace. The sins of those who profess themselves God's people, are worse than the sins of others. And the sins of a nation bring public judgments, when not restrained by public justice. Men may murmur under calamities, but nothing will truly profit while they reject Christ and his gospel.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17The Lord acts like a warrior, determined to win against evil (see Ephesians 6:14).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. faileth--is not to be found. he that departeth ... prey--He that will not fall in with the prevailing iniquity exposes himself as a prey to the wicked (Psa 10:8, 9). Lord saw it--The iniquity of Israel, so desperate as to require nothing short of Jehovah's interposition to mend it, typifies the same necessity for a Divine Mediator existing in the deep corruption of man; Israel, the model nation, was chosen to illustrate his awful fact.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 59:15

• Justice
• Persecution
• Repentance
• Rulers
• Sin
• Truth

In the dictionaries

• Cloke
• Grope
• Heavy
• Iniquity
• Mutter
• Revolt
• Truth
• Fail
• Isaiah
• Lack

Commentaries on Isaiah 59

• 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