Isaiah 3:11

11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For 1what * he deserves * will be done to him.

Isaiah 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 3:11

Woe unto the wicked! [it shall be] ill [with him]
In time, and to eternity, in times of public calamity, and under all afflictions, and adverse dispensations of Providence; he has no God to go to; all that befalls him is in wrath; at death he is driven away in his wickedness; at judgment he will be bid to depart as cursed, and his portion will be in the lake of fire, with devils and damned spirits for ever. Some F12 render it, "woe to the wicked, evil"; or who is evil, who is exceedingly bad, a very great sinner, the chief of sinners, such as the Sodomites were, sinners before the Lord exceedingly, ( Genesis 13:13 ) to whom these men are compared, ( Isaiah 3:9 ) . So the Targum,

``woe to the ungodly, whose works are evil:''
the Jews, as they distinguish between a good man and a righteous man, so between a wicked man and an evil man; there are, say they F13, a righteous good man, and a righteous man that is not good; but he that is good to God, and good to men, he is a righteous good man; he that is good to God, and not good to men, he is a righteous man, that is not good; and there are a wicked evil man, and a wicked man that is not evil; he that is evil to God, and evil to men, he is a wicked evil man; he that is evil to God, and not evil to men, he is a wicked man that is not evil. See ( Romans 5:7 Romans 5:8 ) for the reward of his hands shall be given him;
in righteous judgment, in strict justice, as a just recompense of reward; nor shall he have reason to complain of unrighteousness in God.
FOOTNOTES:

F12 (er evrl ywa) "vae impio malo", Munster, Vatablus; so Ben Melech.
F13 T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 40. 1.

Isaiah 3:11 In-Context

9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him.
12 O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths.
13 The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the people.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Isaiah 65:6, 7

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Lit "the dealing of his hands"
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