Isaiah 1:4 kjv
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isaiah 1:4 nkjv
Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
Isaiah 1:4 niv
Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
Isaiah 1:4 esv
Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
Isaiah 1:4 nlt
Oh, what a sinful nation they are ?
loaded down with a burden of guilt.
They are evil people,
corrupt children who have rejected the LORD.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
Isaiah 1 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 32:5-6 | "They have dealt corruptly with Him; they are no longer His children because of their blemish; they are a perverse and crooked generation... is not He your Father, who created you?" | A people corrupted, unfaithful children, forsaking their Divine Father. |
| Psa 14:1-3 | "They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The LORD looks down... to see if there are any who understand... All have turned aside..." | Universal human sinfulness, turning away from God. |
| Psa 53:1-3 | "God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God... All have turned aside..." | Reinforces the universal turning away and moral corruption. |
| Psa 78:40-41 | "How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel." | Israel's long history of rebellion and grieving the Holy One. |
| Jer 2:13 | "for My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." | Direct accusation of forsaking the Lord, the source of life. |
| Jer 5:6-7 | "...for their transgressions are many, their backslidings are numerous... Your children have forsaken Me and have sworn by those who are no gods." | Pervasive national transgression and apostasy of children. |
| Jer 8:5-6 | "Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return... No one repents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?'" | Persistent turning away, refusing to return to God. |
| Ezek 20:13 | "But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; My rules they despised, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and My Sabbaths they greatly profaned..." | Despising divine rules and rebellion against God. |
| Hos 4:6 | "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to Me." | Rejection of God's knowledge leads to destruction and divine rejection. |
| Mal 1:6 | "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name." | Despising the Lord's name, disrespecting God as Father and Master. |
| Matt 3:7 | "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'" | Calling a group "brood of vipers" for their hypocrisy and inherent evil. |
| Matt 12:34 | "You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." | Speaking from an evil heart, an internal corruption. |
| Acts 7:51 | "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." | Continual resistance to God and His Spirit, echoing ancestral rebellion. |
| Rom 1:21-22 | "For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools..." | People rejecting God, becoming estranged and corrupted in heart. |
| Rom 3:10-12 | "as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.'" | Comprehensive indictment of humanity's sinfulness and turning away. |
| Eph 4:18-19 | "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality..." | Spiritual alienation due to hardness of heart and ignorance of God. |
| Heb 3:12 | "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God." | Falling away from God due to an evil, unbelieving heart. |
| Heb 10:29 | "How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" | Profaning the covenant, trampling sacred things, despising. |
| 2 Tim 3:2-5 | "For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money... unholy, without self-control... holding to a form of godliness but denying its power..." | Characterizes the corrupt nature of people in the last days. |
| 1 John 3:4 | "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." | Defining sin as rebellion and active lawlessness. |
Isaiah 1 verses
Isaiah 1 4 Meaning
Isaiah 1:4 conveys God's deep anguish and severe condemnation of the people of Judah. It portrays them as a profoundly corrupted and rebellious nation, fundamentally diseased by sin. They are described as intrinsically evil, actively perverting themselves and society. Their core transgression lies in their deliberate abandonment of the LORD, despising His holy character, and willfully turning away from their covenant relationship with Him. This verse expresses a lament over their state and highlights the grave betrayal of their divine heritage, setting the tone for the severe judgments yet underlying hope for restoration presented in the rest of the book.
Isaiah 1 4 Context
Isaiah 1:4 forms a core part of the prophetic indictment at the beginning of Isaiah's book, functioning almost like a legal accusation against Judah. The preceding verses (1:2-3) establish the divine lawsuit: God calls heaven and earth to witness Judah's spiritual rebellion, contrasting their lack of understanding and gratitude with the obedience of even an ox or a donkey to its master. Verse 4 then precisely details the charges against the nation. Historically, Isaiah prophesied during a period of significant political upheaval (8th century BC), with the rising Assyrian Empire threatening Judah. Yet, the primary concern of Isaiah 1 is not political but spiritual and moral. The chapter reveals that despite outward religious observance (1:11-15), the people's hearts were far from God, riddled with corruption, social injustice, and covenant unfaithfulness (1:16-23). Thus, Isaiah 1:4 acts as a definitive statement of their utter depravity and the root cause of the national maladies and impending judgment described elsewhere in the chapter.
Isaiah 1 4 Word analysis
- Ah (Hebrew:
Hoy): An interjection signaling deep lamentation, woe, or impending judgment. It conveys intense grief, disappointment, and stern condemnation, a cry of divine sorrow mixed with a pronouncement of doom. - sinful nation (Hebrew:
goi chote):goi: Usually refers to "gentile nation" or a generic nation. Here, its application to Israel, God's chosen covenant people, underscores their profound spiritual degradation, implying they have descended to the level of pagan nations in their moral behavior.chote: Signifies one who has "missed the mark," highlighting their departure from God's righteous standard and will.
- people loaded with iniquity (Hebrew:
am kaved-avon):am: Refers to the covenant "people," emphasizing their special relationship with God, which they have heavily burdened by their sin.kaved: Means "heavy" or "weighted down," suggesting a cumulative and overwhelming mass of guilt and moral burden.avon: Implies a twistedness, perversity, or guilt that naturally accompanies sin.
- brood of evildoers (Hebrew:
zera mer'eim):zera: Denotes "seed" or "offspring," emphasizing that evil is not just something they do, but something inherent to their very nature or generational character.mer'eim: Those who actively "do evil" or are wicked, indicating a deep-seated inclination and practice of wrongdoing.
- children who are corrupters (Hebrew:
banim mashhitim):banim: "Sons" or "children," further highlights the pervasive, generational nature of this corruption.mashhitim: Literally "destroyers" or "ruiners," signifying an active, destructive influence—they not only commit evil but actively corrupt or spoil what is good around them.
- They have forsaken the LORD (Hebrew:
azvu et YHWH):azvu: "Forsaken," "abandoned," or "deserted." A decisive, willful act of breaking covenant loyalty and personal relationship with God.YHWH: The personal, covenant Name of God, whose relationship they have so utterly betrayed.
- they have despised the Holy One of Israel (Hebrew:
nitztzu et Kedosh Yisrael):nitztzu: "Despised," "scorned," or "treated with contempt." Not just forgotten, but actively dishonored and held in disdain.Kedosh Yisrael: "Holy One of Israel." A significant and frequent title for God in Isaiah (occurring 25 times), emphasizing His absolute moral purity, transcendence, and unapproachable holiness. Their despising Him highlights the antithesis between His nature and their corruption.
- they are estranged (Hebrew:
zoru): To become a "stranger," "alienated," or "separated." Implies a self-inflicted spiritual distancing and isolation from God due to their sin. - and have turned away backward (Hebrew:
nehoru ahoyr):nehoru: To turn away or back.ahoyr: "Backward." Signifies a complete spiritual reversal, going in the opposite direction from God's path, away from covenant faithfulness and divine truth.
Words-Group Analysis
- "Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters!": This cluster of terms paints a multifaceted and progressively darker picture of Judah's spiritual state. It moves from general "sinful nation" to an unbearable "load of iniquity," then describes their inherent evil nature as a "brood," culminating in their active destructive tendency as "corrupters." This powerful accumulation underscores the depth, pervasiveness, and active malice of their sin.
- "They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they are estranged and have turned away backward.": These clauses specify the nature of their rebellion against God directly. "Forsaken the LORD" describes the covenant breaking. "Despised the Holy One of Israel" reveals their contempt for His very character and holiness. The final two phrases, "estranged" and "turned away backward," illustrate the deliberate and thorough nature of their self-removal from His presence and ways, completing the portrait of utter spiritual defection.
Isaiah 1 4 Bonus section
- The progression from "nation" to "people" to "brood" to "children" indicates an increasing intensity of culpability and an internalization of sin within the very fabric of their identity and generations.
- The phrase "Holy One of Israel" frequently appears in Isaiah, acting as a divine signature within the book, repeatedly reminding Israel of the awesome purity and moral standard of the God they had forsaken. It serves as both a rebuke and a promise; the One they despised is also their only hope for future redemption and holiness.
- This verse captures a central theme echoed throughout the Old Testament prophets: Israel's failure to live up to its calling as a holy nation, light, and witness to God, resulting in judgment, yet always retaining a glimmer of divine intention for ultimate restoration.
Isaiah 1 4 Commentary
Isaiah 1:4 is a powerful diagnostic statement of Judah's spiritual condition, penned by the prophet Isaiah under divine inspiration. It articulates God's profound grief and anger over His chosen people's deep-seated rebellion. The layering of descriptive phrases, such as "sinful nation," "loaded with iniquity," "brood of evildoers," and "children who are corrupters," intensifies the portrayal of pervasive spiritual decay affecting every facet of their being and society. Their sin is not accidental but a profound, inherent evil that actively corrupts. Crucially, the verse pinpoints the root of their corruption: a deliberate abandonment of their covenant God, YHWH. They have not merely drifted but actively "despised the Holy One of Israel," a title unique to Isaiah that accentuates God's absolute moral purity in contrast to their defilement. Their rebellion manifests as a willful "estrangement" and "turning away backward," a total rejection of the path of righteousness and a profound betrayal of the very source of their existence and blessings. This indictment clarifies why the judgments articulated later in the chapter and throughout the book are necessary, laying the groundwork for understanding the dire need for God's ultimate cleansing and redemption.