New International Version
Isaiah 59:8
8The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace.
Isaiah 59:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.
Context of Isaiah 59:8
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. 7Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace. 9So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. 10Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
Read all of Isaiah 59Isaiah 59:8 word by word
דֶּ֤רֶךְ שָׁלוֹם֙ לֹ֣א יָדָ֔עוּ וְאֵ֥ין מִשְׁפָּ֖ט בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתָ֑ם נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ עִקְּשׁ֣וּ לָהֶ֔ם כֹּ֚ל דֹּרֵ֣ךְ בָּ֔הּ לֹ֥א יָדַ֖ע שָׁלֽוֹם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- of peaceשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peaceH7965
- they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- no judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- in their goingsמַעְגָּלma‛gâl ma‛gâlâh · trackH4570
- they have made them crookedעָקַשׁ‛âqash · to twistH6140
- pathsנְתִיבָהnâthîyb nethîybâh nethibâh · pathH5410
- whosoever goethדָּרַךְdârak · to treadH1869
Cross-references for Isaiah 59:8
- Proverbs 3:17Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
- Luke 1:79to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
- Romans 3:17and the way of peace they do not know.”
- Isaiah 59:14So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
- Isaiah 5:7The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
- 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.
- Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
- Amos 6:1Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!
- Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
- Psalms 58:1Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity?
- Psalms 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel.
- Proverbs 2:15whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.
- Proverbs 28:18The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.
- Isaiah 48:22“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
- Isaiah 57:20But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.
Commentaries on Isaiah 59:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace "Whoever goeth in them knoweth not peace" - For בה bah, singular, read בם bam, plural, with the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and Chaldee. The ה he is upon a rasure in one MS. Or, for נתיבתיהם nethibotheyhem, plural, we must read נתיבתם nethibatham, singular, as it is in an ancient MS., to preserve the grammatical concord. - L.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The way of peace they know not - The phrase way of peace‘ may denote either peace of conscience, peace with God, peace among themselves, or peace with their fellow-men. Possibly it may refer to all these; and the sense will be, that in their whole lives they were strangers to true contentment and happiness. From no quarter had they peace, but whether in relation to God, to their own consciences, to each other, or to their fellow-men, they were involved in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8Paul quotes these verses when he describes the sinfulness of all people. He shows that everyone has turned away from God and does what is wrong (Romans 3:15–17). ruin and destruction: The people complained that others were treating them unfairly (Isaiah 51:19). They said they were suffering under oppression. But they were also treating other people unfairly. They had become oppressors themselves.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. peace--whether in relation to God, to their own conscience, or to their fellow men (Is 57:20, 21). judgment--justice. crooked--the opposite of "straightforward" (Pr 2:15; 28:18).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 59:8
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
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