New International Version
Isaiah 9:16
16Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.
Isaiah 9:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
- English Standard Version (ESV)for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction.
Context of Isaiah 9:16
14So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; 15the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray. 17Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks folly. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. 18Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
Read all of Isaiah 9Isaiah 9:16 word by word
וַיִּֽהְי֛וּ מְאַשְּׁרֵ֥י הָֽעָם־הַזֶּ֖ה מַתְעִ֑ים וּמְאֻשָּׁרָ֖יו מְבֻלָּעִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 9:16
- Isaiah 3:12Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.
- Matthew 15:14Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
- Matthew 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’
- Numbers 6:23“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
- 1 Kings 8:55He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
- 2 Chronicles 30:27The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.
- Hebrews 7:7And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.
Commentaries on Isaiah 9:16
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16For the leaders of this people - Note, Isaiah 3:12. Hebrew They that call this people blessed‘ - referring more particularly to the false prophets. They that are led of them - Hebrew, They that are called blessed by them.‘ Are destroyed - Hebrew, Are swallowed up;‘ see the note at Isaiah 3:12. They are ruined; or swallowed up as in a vast whirlpool or vortex.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-21Verses 8-21 Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-17God used punishment to call his people to repentance. Repentance means turning away from sin and turning back to God. His goal was not to destroy Israel, but to correct them and bring them back to himself. However, Israel had become apostate. This means they had turned away from the Lord and rejected him. They refused to repent or to seek the Lord.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1713-17. Second strophe. turneth not--the design of God's chastisements; not fulfilled in their case; a new cause for punishment (Jr 2:20; 5:3).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 9:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 9
- 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
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