New Living Translation
Isaiah 9:16
16For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.
- 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.
Context of Isaiah 9:16
14Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. 15The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail. For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction. 17That is why the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men and shows no mercy even to the widows and orphans. For they are all wicked hypocrites, and they all speak foolishness. But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike. 18This wickedness is like a brushfire. It burns not only briers and thorns but also sets the forests ablaze. Its burning sends up clouds 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 3:12Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road.
- Matthew 15:14so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
- Matthew 23:16“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’
- Numbers 6:23“Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:
- 1 Kings 8:55He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel:
- 2 Chronicles 30:27Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven.
- Hebrews 7:7And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries