Isaiah 9:17

17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer , and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away , but his hand is stretched out still .

Isaiah 9:17 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 9:17

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men,
&c.] Take no delight and pleasure in them; but, on the contrary, detest and abhor them, and so destroy them, being depraved and corrupted by the bad instructions and examples of their parents: neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
who are objects of pity and compassion; yet these being wicked, as well as the fathers of the one, and the husbands of the other, shall be no more spared than they have been; so that this expresses both the general corruption and destruction of this people: for everyone [is] a hypocrite and an evildoer;
a hypocrite, as Aben Ezra on the place observes, is one that is outwardly good, and inwardly wicked; which was the general character of the people of Israel in Isaiah's time, as it was of the Jews in the times of Christ, see ( Matthew 23:25-28 ) they pretended to do good, but were doers of evil, workers of iniquity, continually committing sin; and yet would be thought to be very upright and sincere, both in their religion towards God, and in their dealings with men; but deceitful in both: and every mouth speaketh folly;
or falsehood; a lie, as the Targum, as all lies are foolish; as also all vain words, all impious ones; or the savour of irreligion or superstition, and indeed every idle word, and all unsavoury and corrupt speech, and there is particularly foolish talking, which is not convenient, ( Ephesians 5:4 ) : for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is]
stretched out still;
which is repeated from ( Isaiah 9:12 ) . (See Gill on Isaiah 9:12).

Isaiah 9:17 In-Context

15 The ancient and honourable , he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err ; and they that are led of them are destroyed .
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer , and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away , but his hand is stretched out still .
18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened , and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

Footnotes 1

The King James Version is in the public domain.