Isaiah 59:15

15 There is so little honesty that those who stop doing evil find themselves the victims of crime." The Lord has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice.

Isaiah 59:15 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 59:15

Yea, truth faileth
Or, "is deprived" F6; of its life and being; it not only falls in the street, and there lies, without any to show regard unto it; but it fails; it seems as if it had given up the ghost and expired; so very prevalent will error be, before light and truth spring up again and be victorious, as they will: and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey;
he that does not give in to the prevailing vices of the age in which he lives, now become fashionable, but abstains from them, and departs from doctrinal as well as practical evils; from all false doctrines, and from all superstitious modes of worship; becomes a prey to others; a reproach and a laughing stock to them; they scoff at him, and deride him for his preciseness in religion; for his enthusiastic and irrational notions in doctrine; and for his stiffness in matters of worship: or, "he makes himself reckoned a madman" F7; as some render it; and this is a common notion with profane men, and loose professors, to reckon such as madmen that are upright in doctrine, worship, and conversation; see ( Acts 26:24 ) : and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no
judgment;
he took notice of all this, and resented it, though in a professing people, that there was no judgment or discretion in matters of doctrine and worship; no order or discipline observed; no justice done in civil courts, or in the church of God; no reformation in church or state.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (trden) "privata"; so (rdeh) "privatio", often with the Rubbins.
F7 (llwtvm) "facit ut insanus habeatur", Junius & Tremellius; "habitus est pro insano", Vitringa; so Abendana, "he that fears God, and departs from evil", (hjwvl whwbvxy) , "they reckon him a fool or a madman."

Isaiah 59:15 In-Context

13 We have rebelled against you, rejected you, and refused to follow you. We have oppressed others and turned away from you. Our thoughts are false; our words are lies.
14 Justice is driven away, and right cannot come near. Truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty finds no place there.
15 There is so little honesty that those who stop doing evil find themselves the victims of crime." The Lord has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice.
16 He is astonished to see that there is no one to help the oppressed. So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory.
17 He will wear justice like a coat of armor and saving power like a helmet. He will clothe himself with the strong desire to set things right and to punish and avenge the wrongs that people suffer.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.