New King James Version
Isaiah 59:8
8The 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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 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 webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. 7Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. 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. 9Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! 10We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.
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 ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.
- Luke 1:79To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
- Romans 3:17And the way of peace they have not known.”
- Isaiah 59:14Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.
- Isaiah 5:7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.
- 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.
- 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.
- Amos 6:1Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes!
- Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
- Psalms 125:5As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, The Lord shall lead them away With the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel!
- Proverbs 2:15Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;
- Proverbs 28:18Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.
- Isaiah 48:22“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
- Isaiah 57:20But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries