Isaiah 59:15

Isaiah 59:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
• New International Version (NIV)Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.

Context of Isaiah 59:15

13In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. 16He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

Isaiah 59:15 word by word

וַתְּהִ֤י הָֽאֱמֶת֙ נֶעְדֶּ֔רֶת וְסָ֥ר מֵרָ֖ע מִשְׁתּוֹלֵ֑ל וַיַּ֧רְא יְהוָ֛ה וַיֵּ֥רַע בְּעֵינָ֖יו כִּֽי־אֵ֥ין מִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: trueH571
• failethעָדַר‛âdar · to lackH5737
• departethסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: departH5493
• from evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• maketh himself a preyשָׁלַלshâlal · to lootH7997
• and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and it displeasedעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• and it displeasedיָרַעyâra‛ · quiverH3415
• no judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941

Cross-references for Isaiah 59:15

• Isaiah 48:1“Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the Lord, And make mention of the God of Israel, But not in truth or in righteousness;
• Psalms 5:9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.
• Psalms 12:1Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
• Jeremiah 5:1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.
• Jeremiah 7:28“So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.
• Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
• Micah 7:2The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.
• Habakkuk 1:13You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?
• Acts 9:1Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
• Romans 8:36As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
• Hebrews 11:36Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
• 1 John 3:11For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
• 2 Kings 9:11Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.”
• Jeremiah 29:26“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks.
• Hosea 9:7The days of punishment have come; The days of recompense have come. Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, The spiritual man is insane, Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
• Mark 3:21But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 59:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15And the Lord saw it "And Jehovah saw it" - This third line of the stanza appears manifestly to me to be imperfect by the loss of a phrase. The reader will perhaps more perfectly conceive my idea of the matter if I endeavor to supply the supposed defect, I imagine it might have stood originally in this manner: - לו ויחר יהוה וירא lo veyachar Yehovah vaiyar משפט אין כי בעיניו וירע mishpat ein ki beeyinaiv veyera "And Jehovah saw it, and he was wroth; And it…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Yea, truth faileth - That is, it is not to be found, it is missing. The word used here (from עדר ‛âdar ) means “to be left, to remain” 2 Samuel 17:22; then “to be missing or lacking” 1 Samuel 30:19; Isaiah 40:26. Here it means that truth had no existence there. And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey - Margin, Is accounted mad.‘ Noyes renders this, And he that departeth from evil is plundered.‘ Grotius renders it, The innocent man lies open…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 If we shut our eyes against the light of Divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace. The sins of those who profess themselves God's people, are worse than the sins of others. And the sins of a nation bring public judgments, when not restrained by public justice. Men may murmur under calamities, but nothing will truly profit while they reject Christ and his gospel.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17The Lord acts like a warrior, determined to win against evil (see Ephesians 6:14).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. faileth--is not to be found. he that departeth ... prey--He that will not fall in with the prevailing iniquity exposes himself as a prey to the wicked (Psa 10:8, 9). Lord saw it--The iniquity of Israel, so desperate as to require nothing short of Jehovah's interposition to mend it, typifies the same necessity for a Divine Mediator existing in the deep corruption of man; Israel, the model nation, was chosen to illustrate his awful fact.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 59:15

• Justice
• Persecution
• Repentance
• Rulers
• Sin
• Truth

In the dictionaries

• Cloke
• Grope
• Heavy
• Iniquity
• Mutter
• Revolt
• Truth
• Fail
• Isaiah
• Lack

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