Isaiah 3:9

9 The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.

Isaiah 3:9 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 3:9

The shew of their countenance doth witness against them,
&c.] The word translated "shew" is only used in this place. Some derive it from (rkn) , "to know", in the conjugations Piel and Hiphil; and render it, "the knowledge of their countenance" ^F6; that is, that which may be known by their countenances; the countenance oftentimes shows what is in the heart, the cruel disposition of the mind, the pride and vanity of it, the uncleanness and lasciviousness that is in it; to this our version agrees, and which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrase,

``the knowledge of their countenance in judgment doth testify against them;''

as they appear there, so it may be judged of them; their guilt flies in their face, and fills them with shame and confusion; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "the shame of their face"; but others derive it from (rkh) , which has the signification of hardness in the Arabic language, and as it is thought by some to have in ( Job 19:3 ) and render it, "the hardness of their countenance"; so R. Joseph Kimchi, and others ^F7, meaning their impudence ^F8; not only their words and actions, but their impudent looks, show what they are; which agrees with what follows: and they declare their sin as Sodom,
and hide [it] not;
commit it openly, without fear or shame; glory in it, and boast of it, as the Jews did in their crucifixion of Christ, and their evil treatment of him: woe to their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves;
they have brought upon themselves, soul and body, the just recompence of reward; they have been the cause of their own ruin, and have wronged their own souls.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Myhynp trkh) "cognitio vultus eorum", Munster, Vatablus, V. L.
F7 "Obfermatio", Janius & Tremellius; "durities", Piscator.
F8 So Schindler renders the Arabic word <arabic>, "hacar", impudence. Vid. Castel. Lexic. col. 846.

Isaiah 3:9 In-Context

7 But he will reply, “No! I can’t help. I don’t have any extra food or clothes. Don’t put me in charge!”

8 For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.

9 The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.

10 Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!

11 But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.