New International Version
Isaiah 59:4
4No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
Isaiah 59:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
- English Standard Version (ESV)No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
- New Living Translation (NLT)No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.
Context of Isaiah 59:4
2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. 5They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. 6Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
Read all of Isaiah 59Isaiah 59:4 word by word
אֵין־קֹרֵ֣א בְצֶ֔דֶק וְאֵ֥ין נִשְׁפָּ֖ט בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה בָּט֤וֹחַ עַל־תֹּ֙הוּ֙ וְדַבֶּר־שָׁ֔וְא הָר֥וֹ עָמָ֖ל וְהוֹלֵ֥יד אָֽוֶן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- None callethקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
- for justiceצֶ֫דֶקtsedeq · righteousnessH6664
- pleadethשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- for truthאֱמוּנָה'ĕmûnâh 'ĕmûnâh · faithfulnessH530
- they trustבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
- in vanityתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
- and speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- liesשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
- they conceiveהָרָהhârâh · to conceiveH2029
- mischiefעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
- and bring forthיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- iniquityאָ֫וֶן'âven · evil: wickednessH205
Cross-references for Isaiah 59:4
- Isaiah 59:16He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 22:29The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.
- Micah 7:2The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each other with nets.
- Isaiah 30:12Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit,
- Job 15:31Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return.
- Psalms 62:10Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
- Jeremiah 7:4Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”
- Isaiah 59:3For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
- Psalms 62:4Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.
- Isaiah 59:13rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
- Job 15:35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit.”
- Psalms 7:13He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.
- Proverbs 4:16For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
- Micah 2:1Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
- James 1:15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Commentaries on Isaiah 59:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity - There is a curious propriety in this mode of expression; a thought or purpose is compared to conception; a word or act, which is the consequence of it, to the birth of a child. From the third to the fifteenth verse inclusive may be considered a true statement of the then moral state of the Jewish people; and that they were, in the most proper sense of the word, guilty of the iniquities with which they are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4None calleth for justice - Or rather, there is no one who brings a suit with justice; no one who goes into court for the purpose of obtaining justice. There is a love of litigation; a desire to take all the advantage which the law can give; a desire to appeal to the law, not for the sake of having strict justice done, but for the sake of doing injury to others, and to take some undue advantage. Nor any pleadeth for truth - Or, no one pleadeth with truth…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4calls for justice: Israel did not practice these qualities that are part of God’s nature and that he expects from people (Isaiah 1:21; see 25:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Rather, "No one calleth an adversary into court with justice," that is, None bringeth a just suit: "No one pleadeth with truth." they trust ... iniquity--(So Job 15:35; Psa 7:14).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 59:4
In the dictionaries
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries