Isaiah 1 5

Isaiah 1:5 kjv

Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 1:5 nkjv

Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.

Isaiah 1:5 niv

Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.

Isaiah 1:5 esv

Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 1:5 nlt

Why do you continue to invite punishment?
Must you rebel forever?
Your head is injured,
and your heart is sick.

Isaiah 1 verses

Isaiah 1 5 Meaning

Isaiah 1:5 laments Judah's incurable spiritual sickness and persistent rebellion despite God's disciplinary actions. It describes the nation as a body entirely diseased, from its intellectual and leadership core ("head") to its moral and emotional center ("heart"), implying utter corruption and an unresponsive nature to divine correction, which only leads to deeper sin.

Isaiah 1 5 Context

Isaiah chapter 1 serves as the opening address of the prophet's book, functioning as a "lawsuit" (rib) against Judah and Jerusalem. This verse immediately follows the depiction of God's ungrateful children (v. 2-4) who have forsaken Him. The prophet Isaiah, active in the 8th century BCE during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, delivered these pronouncements during a period of relative prosperity but deep moral and spiritual decay within Judah. God uses a vivid metaphor of a human body, ravaged by wounds and sores (expanded in v. 6), to describe the nation's spiritual condition. Isaiah 1:5, therefore, diagnoses Judah's problem: despite repeated divine chastisement—implied by the "stricken"—their stubbornness ("revolt more and more") has rendered these judgments ineffective, leading to a state of complete spiritual incapacitation from their leadership down to their very core.

Isaiah 1 5 Word analysis

• Why: לָמָּה (lammah) - A rhetorical question, not seeking information but expressing dismay, lament, frustration, and a sense of futility. It underscores God's exasperation that His disciplinary actions have not produced repentance.
• should you be stricken: תֻכּוּ (tukku) - From the verb נָכָה (nakah), meaning "to strike, smite, wound." This Niphal imperfect form implies a passive but experienced action – "you are struck" or "you keep being struck." It suggests repeated blows or judgments that Judah has already endured, either from external enemies or divine hand, as a consequence of their sin.
• anymore: עוֹד (od) - Signifies continuation, repetition, or an increase. Here, it intensifies the question: "Why should you continue to be struck?" Implies that the current strikes are part of an ongoing pattern, yet unproductive.
• You will revolt: תֹּסִפוּ סָרָה (tosifu sarah) - This is a powerful phrase.
  • תֹּסִפוּ (tosifu): Hiphil imperfect of יָסַף (yasaf), meaning "to add, continue, do again."
  • סָרָה (sarah): Noun meaning "apostasy, defection, rebellion, turning aside."
  • Together, the phrase literally means "you add rebellion" or "you will continue to rebel." It describes an active, persistent, and deepening rejection of God's ways, implying that the very discipline meant to turn them back only seems to drive them further into defiance.
• more and more: This English rendering captures the intensifying nature implied by tosifu sarah, not just a one-time act but a sustained pattern of increasing rebellion. The verb itself conveys the idea of continuation and increase.
• the whole head: כָּל־רֹאשׁ (kol-rosh) - Literally "all head." The head symbolizes leadership, intellect, and authority (kings, priests, elders). Its sickness signifies the moral and spiritual corruption pervasive among Judah's leaders.
• is sick: לָחֳלִי (lacholi) - Literally "unto sickness" or "given over to sickness." It emphasizes the deep, established nature of the illness, implying chronic or profound spiritual disease rather than a fleeting ailment.
• and the whole heart: וְכָל־לֵב (v'khol-lev) - Literally "and all heart." The heart in biblical thought represents the inner being, the seat of will, emotion, thought, and moral intention. It encompasses one's character and conscience.
• faint: דַּוָּי (davvay) - Meaning "sick, grieved, faint, languishing, failing." This describes the heart's utter spiritual weakness and lack of vitality. It is morally drained, incapacitated, and unable to respond properly to God.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Why should you be stricken anymore?": This rhetorical question is from God's perspective, conveying His profound anguish and bewilderment. It implies that His corrective measures (the "striking" or disciplinary actions) have been fruitless, failing to achieve their intended purpose of bringing about repentance. Instead, Judah has hardened its heart against further correction.
• "You will revolt more and more": This directly follows the rhetorical question and provides the painful answer. Despite experiencing repeated chastisements, Judah's response is not contrition but deeper rebellion. It points to a deep-seated spiritual malaise where judgment only entrenches defiance, leading to an increasing separation from God's will. This is not just backsliding but actively adding to their sin.
• "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint": This introduces the powerful body metaphor. The "whole head" and "whole heart" indicate a comprehensive and total national sickness, not merely localized issues. "Head" points to intellectual understanding, leadership, and national vision, all corrupted. "Heart" points to the nation's core being, its moral compass, spiritual will, and capacity for devotion, all utterly debilitated. The imagery paints a picture of a nation utterly incapacitated by sin, morally weak and spiritually defunct from top to bottom.

Isaiah 1 5 Bonus section

The profound spiritual sickness depicted in Isaiah 1:5, especially with "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint," serves as a foreshadowing for the detailed physical imagery of wounds and festering sores in verse 6, where "from the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it." This progression highlights the totality and systemic nature of Judah's spiritual decay. The spiritual ailment isn't confined to a specific part of the population (e.g., just the leaders or just the common people); rather, it has permeated every aspect of national life and being. The "head" (leadership, intellect, strategic thinking) being "sick" signifies flawed governance, corrupt judgment, and distorted priorities. The "heart" (the core of moral and spiritual life) being "faint" denotes a lost capacity for genuine devotion, ethical action, and responsive obedience to God's will. This state reflects a nation on the brink of collapse, not merely politically or militarily, but fundamentally spiritually.

Isaiah 1 5 Commentary

Isaiah 1:5 delivers a powerful indictment and a lamentation from the perspective of God, deeply distressed by the spiritual condition of Judah. The rhetorical question, "Why should you be stricken anymore?" highlights the divine frustration with Judah's utter imperviousness to discipline. It's not a question asked out of ignorance, but out of exasperation at the futility of repeated judgments that have fallen on an unresponsive nation. These "strikes" (likely referencing the consequences of their disobedience such as invasions, plagues, or famine) were meant to correct, yet they produced no fruit of repentance.

Instead, the tragic answer follows: "You will revolt more and more." This signifies an accelerating spiral of apostasy and disobedience. Judah is not merely relapsing; it is actively adding to its rebellion, digging itself deeper into sin. This suggests a chronic spiritual malady where the heart becomes increasingly hardened and unresponsive to divine grace and correction, ultimately resisting the very means meant for its restoration.

The imagery then shifts to a physically diseased body: "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." This metaphor illustrates the pervasive and terminal nature of Judah's spiritual corruption. The "head" symbolizes the nation's leadership, its wisdom, and its capacity for moral direction, all of which are depicted as thoroughly diseased. The "heart," the seat of intellect, will, and moral vitality, is "faint"—languishing and weak. This implies a complete breakdown of moral and spiritual health throughout society, affecting all strata from rulers to the populace. The sickness is systemic, not superficial. The nation, by stubbornly persisting in rebellion, has brought itself to a state of spiritual paralysis where healing seems impossible without radical change.

This verse therefore underscores a core biblical principle: persistent unresponsiveness to divine discipline leads to deeper depravity and a spiritual condition so profound that even God's interventions appear to be without effect.