Isaiah 1:17

Isaiah 1:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

Context of Isaiah 1:17

15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! 16Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. 18“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;

Isaiah 1:17 word by word

לִמְד֥וּ הֵיטֵ֛ב דִּרְשׁ֥וּ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט אַשְּׁר֣וּ חָמ֑וֹץ שִׁפְט֣וּ יָת֔וֹם רִ֖יבוּ אַלְמָנָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Learnלָמַדlâmad · to learn: learnH3925
• to do wellיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
• seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• relieveאָשַׁר'âshar 'âshêr · to blessH833
• the oppressedחָמוֹץchâmôts · the ruthlessH2541
• judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• the fatherlessיָתוֹםyâthôm · orphanH3490
• pleadרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• for the widowאַלְמָנָה'almânâh · widowH490

Cross-references for Isaiah 1:17

• Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.
• Psalms 82:3Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
• Proverbs 31:9Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
• Jeremiah 22:3This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
• Daniel 4:27Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”
• Micah 6:8He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
• Zephaniah 2:3Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.
• Zechariah 7:9“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
• Zechariah 8:16These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;

Commentaries on Isaiah 1:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Relieve the oppressed "Amend that which is corrupted" - חמוץ אשרו asheru chamots . In rendering this obscure phrase I follow Bochart, (Hieroz. Part i., lib. ii., cap. 7), though I am not perfectly satisfied with this explication of it.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Learn to do well - , To learn here is to become accustomed to, to practice it. To do well stands opposed to all kinds of evil. “Seek judgment.” The word “judgment” - משׁפט mishpâṭ - here means justice. The direction refers particularly to magistrates, and it is evident that the prophet had them particularly in his view in all this discourse. Execute justice between man and man with impartiality. The word “seek” - דרשׁוּ dı̂reshû - means to pursue, to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 Not only feel sorrow for the sin committed, but break off the practice. We must be doing, not stand idle. We must be doing the good the Lord our God requires. It is plain that the sacrifices of the law could not atone, even for outward national crimes. But, blessed be God, there is a Fountain opened, in which sinners of every age and rank may be cleansed. Though our sins have been as scarlet and crimson, a deep dye, a double dye, first in the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Seeking justice means following God's standards of fairness and supporting the rights of the oppressed, orphans, and widows—those who are weak and marginalized in society (see also Jeremiah 7:5–7; 22:3; Zechariah 7:10; Matthew 23:23; 25:31–46; James 1:27).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. seek judgment--justice, as magistrates, instead of seeking bribes (Jr 22:3, 16). judge--vindicate (Psa 68:5; Jas 1:27).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 1:17

• Church
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Justice
• Oppression
• Ordinance
• Orphan
• Poor
• Regeneration
• Reward
• Widow

In the dictionaries

• Convert
• Crib
• Eat
• Fade
• Harlot
• Isaiah, The Book of
• Judgment
• Oblation
• Owner
• Purely

Commentaries on Isaiah 1

• 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