Isaiah 9:17

17 Therefore the Lord does not 1rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is 2godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks 3folly.[a] 4For all this his anger has not turned away, and 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 elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
16 for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another.

Cross References 4

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or speaks disgraceful things
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.