Isaiah 29:13

Isaiah 29:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
• New Living Translation (NLT)And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

Context of Isaiah 29:13

11For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.” The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. 14Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” 15Woe 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?”

Isaiah 29:13 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲדֹנָ֗י יַ֚עַן כִּ֤י נִגַּשׁ֙ הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה בְּפִ֤יו וּבִשְׂפָתָיו֙ כִּבְּד֔וּנִי וְלִבּ֖וֹ רִחַ֣ק מִמֶּ֑נִּי וַתְּהִ֤י יִרְאָתָם֙ אֹתִ֔י מִצְוַ֥ת אֲנָשִׁ֖ים מְלֻמָּדָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wherefore the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Forasmuchיַעַןya‛an · becauseH3282
• as this peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• draw nearנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• with their mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• and with their lipsשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lipsH8193
• do honourכָּבֵדkâbad kâbêd · to honor: honourH3513
• me, but have removedרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• from me, and their fearיִרְאָהyir'âh · fearH3374
• toward me is taughtלָמַדlâmad · to learn: teachH3925
• by the preceptמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
• of menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582

Cross-references for Isaiah 29:13

• Isaiah 10:6I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
• Isaiah 48:1“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness—
• Isaiah 58:2For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
• Psalms 17:1Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips.
• Jeremiah 3:10In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 5:1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.
• Jeremiah 12:2You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.
• Jeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.
• Ezekiel 33:31My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.
• Matthew 15:7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
• 2 Chronicles 29:1Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.
• 2 Chronicles 30:1Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel.
• 2 Chronicles 31:1When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.
• Proverbs 30:6Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
• Matthew 15:2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
• Mark 7:2and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.

Commentaries on Isaiah 29:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13The Lord "Jehovah" - For אדני Adonai, sixty-three MSS. of Kennicott's, and many of De Rossi's, and four editions, read יהוה Yehovah, and five MSS. add יהוה . Kimchi makes some just observations on this verse. The vision, meaning the Divine revelation of all the prophets, is a book or letter that is sealed - is not easily understood. This is delivered to one that is learned - instructed in the law. Read this; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed; a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Wherefore the Lord said - This verse, with the following, is designed to denounce the divine judgment on their formality of worship. They kept up the forms of religion, but they witcheld the affections of their hearts from God; and he, therefore, says that he will proceed to inflict on them exemplary and deserved punishment. This people draw near me - That is, in the temple, and in the forms of external devotion. And with their lips do honor me - They…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. 13These people used religious language in their prayers and conversations (see Matthew 15:8; Mark 7:6–7), but they did not truly honor God. In their hearts, they were not committed to the Lord. In their worship, they followed human rules and regulations instead of God's word.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. precept of men--instead of the precepts of God, given by His prophets; also worship external, and by rule, not heartfelt as God requires (Joh 4:24). Compare Christ's quotation of this verse from the Septuagint.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 29:13

• Character
• Commandments
• Fear of God
• Formalism
• Hypocrisy
• Isaiah
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Close
• Mouth
• Raise
• Sennacherib
• Hezekiah (2)
• Isaiah
• Lip
• Literature, Sub-Apostolic
• Praise
• Rote

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