Isaiah 9:15

Isaiah 9:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
• New International Version (NIV)the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
• English Standard Version (ESV)the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
• New Living Translation (NLT)The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail.

Context of Isaiah 9:15

13For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. 14Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day. The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. 16For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed. 17Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 9:15 word by word

זָקֵ֥ן וּנְשׂוּא־פָנִ֖ים ה֣וּא הָרֹ֑אשׁ וְנָבִ֥יא מֽוֹרֶה־שֶּׁ֖קֶר ה֥וּא הַזָּנָֽב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The ancientזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• and honourableנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: kindnessH5375
• and honourableפָּנֶהpânîym · face: kindnessH6440
• heהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• and the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• that teachethיָרָהyârâh yârâ' · to showH3384
• liesשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• the tailזָנָבzânâb · tailH2180

Cross-references for Isaiah 9:15

• Isaiah 3:5The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the elder, And the base toward the honorable.”
• Isaiah 5:13Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.
• 1 Samuel 9:6And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”
• Isaiah 28:17Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
• Isaiah 29:10For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.
• 1 Kings 13:18He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)
• 1 Kings 22:22The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?
• Jeremiah 14:14And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
• Jeremiah 23:9My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the Lord, And because of His holy words.
• Jeremiah 27:9Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.”
• Jeremiah 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.
• Jeremiah 29:21Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes.
• Ezekiel 13:1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
• Hosea 9:8The watchman of Ephraim is with my God; But the prophet is a fowler’s snare in all his ways— Enmity in the house of his God.
• Malachi 2:9“Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base Before all the people, Because you have not kept My ways But have shown partiality in the law.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 9:15

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The ancient - The elder; the old man. And honorable - Hebrew, The man of elevated countenance.‘ The man of rank and office. The prophet that teacheth lies - The false prophet. Of those there were many; and probably at this time many in Samaria.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 9:15

• Backsliders
• Isaiah
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Ahaz
• Increase
• Kindle
• Poetry
• Prince
• Snatch
• Ezekiel
• Head
• Honorable
• Isaiah

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