Isaiah 1:6

6 You are battered from head to foot— covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds— without any soothing ointments or bandages.

Isaiah 1:6 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 1:6

From the sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no
soundness in it
Every member of the body politic was afflicted in one way or another, or sadly infected with the disease of sin; see ( Psalms 28:3 ) . So the Targum,

``from the rest of the people, even unto the princes, there is none among them who is perfect in my fear;''

see ( Daniel 9:8 ) ( Jeremiah 8:10 ) [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores;
to which either public calamities on a city or nation may be compared, ( Hosea 5:13 ) or the sins and transgressions both of single persons, and of whole bodies of men, ( Psalms 38:5 Psalms 38:7 ) . The Targum is,

``they are all stubborn and rebellious, they are defiled with sins as an ulcerous plaster.''

They have not been closed;
that is, the wounds and sores have not been healed; or "they have not been pressed" or "squeezed" ^F3, in order to get the purulent matter out of them: neither bound up;
with bands, after the matter is squeezed out, and a plaster laid on: neither mollified with ointment;
which is used for the supplying and healing of wounds; see ( Luke 10:34 ) . The sense either is, that they were not reformed by their afflictions; or that they did not repent of their sins, nor seek to God for healing and pardon, nor make use of any means for their more healthful state and condition. The Targum paraphrases the words thus,

``they do not leave their haughtinesses, nor are they desirous of repentance, nor have they any righteousness to protect them.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (wrz al) "non expessa fuere a" (rwz) "exprimere humorem, hoc significari clarum est ex" Jud. vi. 38. Gusset. Comment. Ling. Ebr. p. 227. So Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius.

Isaiah 1:6 In-Context

4 Oh, what a sinful nation they are— loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the LORD . They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

5 Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.

6 You are battered from head to foot— covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds— without any soothing ointments or bandages.

7 Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned. Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes and destroy everything they see.

8 Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.