Isaiah 59:15

15 And the truth was taken captive; and he that departed from evil was imprisoned: and the LORD saw it, and it was displeasing in his eyes because that which is right was lost.

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 To rebel and to lie against the LORD, and to depart away from our God; the speaking of libel and rebellion, to conceive, and to speak from the heart words of falsehood,
14 and that which is right has departed, and righteousness withdrew afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity could not enter.
15 And the truth was taken captive; and he that departed from evil was imprisoned: and the LORD saw it, and it was displeasing in his eyes because that which is right was lost.
16 And he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteous ness, it sustained him.
17 For he put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and a helmet of saving health upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloak,
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010