Isaiah 59 3

Isaiah 59:3 kjv

For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

Isaiah 59:3 nkjv

For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.

Isaiah 59:3 niv

For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.

Isaiah 59:3 esv

For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.

Isaiah 59:3 nlt

Your hands are the hands of murderers,
and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
and your mouth spews corruption.

Isaiah 59 verses

Isaiah 59 3 Meaning

Isaiah 59:3 vividly exposes the pervasive sinfulness of the people, presenting a stark indictment against their actions and speech. It declares that their hands, symbols of their deeds and activities, are defiled by bloodshed, violence, and unjust acts. Simultaneously, their fingers, representing even the smallest or most intricate works, are stained with deep-seated iniquity and moral corruption. Moving to their speech, the verse states that their lips are accustomed to speaking falsehoods and deception. Furthermore, their tongues not only utter lies but constantly murmur or meditate on perverseness and injustice, revealing a heart fundamentally estranged from righteousness and truth.

Isaiah 59 3 Context

Isaiah chapter 59 primarily serves as a divine diagnosis of the spiritual and moral condition of Judah (or Israel) following the complaints raised in verses 1-2. The people had questioned why God's saving power and attentive ear seemed absent. This verse directly refutes any self-justification, asserting that the problem lies entirely with the people's pervasive sinfulness, not with God's ability or willingness. Historically, the prophet Isaiah addresses a post-exilic community or one anticipating judgment, struggling with a disconnect between outward religious practice and inward moral corruption. The chapter moves from detailed accusations (vv. 3-8) to the people's confession (vv. 9-15a), setting the stage for God's eventual redemptive intervention through a deliverer (vv. 15b-21).

Isaiah 59 3 Word analysis

• For (כִּ֤י, kî): This conjunction introduces the reason or explanation for the situation described in the preceding verses. It links the people's spiritual alienation from God directly to their actions and speech.

• your hands (כַפֵּיכֶם֙, kappêḵem): Refers to the palms or hands, symbolizing a person's physical actions, labor, power, and interaction with the world. This represents the entire scope of their active conduct.

• are defiled (נִגְאֲל֣וּ, niḡəʾalû): From the root גאל (ga'al), here in the Niphal stem meaning "to be polluted, stained, defiled." It implies a deep moral and spiritual impurity, not just superficial dirt. It often signifies making something sacred profane, or violating a boundary.

• with blood (בַדָּ֔ם, baḏām): This term points to unjust killing, violence, and actions that result in loss of life or severe injury. It signifies moral guilt associated with a person's active deeds.

• and your fingers (וְאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם, wəʾeṣbəʿōwṯêḵem): "Fingers" here can refer to the more specific, detailed, or subtle actions. While "hands" represent general deeds, "fingers" suggest the intricate, calculated, or hidden aspects of their sinful conduct, even beyond overt violence.

• with iniquity (בְּעָוֹ֑ן, bəʿāwōn): ('avone) denotes sin, guilt, or punishment for sin. It often carries the sense of a twisting or perverting of moral standards, resulting in culpability and spiritual deformity. This extends the defilement beyond literal blood to moral wrong.

• Your lips (שִׂפְתוֹתֵיכֶ֣ם, śiftōwṯêḵem): These symbolize spoken words, expressing thoughts, beliefs, and intentions. This shifts the focus from deeds to verbal communication.

• have spoken (דִּבְּרֽוּ־, dibbrū-): A direct verb indicating intentional utterance, stating clearly that these words are actively produced and projected.

• lies (שֶׁ֔קֶר, šeqer): (sheker) signifies falsehood, deception, or fraud. It refers to speaking untruth, either by direct fabrication, misleading statements, or broken promises, indicating a lack of integrity in their verbal communication.

• your tongue (לְשׁוֹנְכֶ֖ם, ləšôwnəḵem): Represents not just the physical organ of speech but the power of expression, intent, and sometimes even underlying meditation.

• mutters (תֶּהְגֶּ֥ה, tehgeh): From the verb הגה (hagah), which means to utter, moan, meditate, ponder, or growl. Here, it suggests a continuous, almost internalized process of contemplating and expressing wrongful ideas, often in an understated, repetitive, or plotting manner, indicating an underlying preoccupation with sin.

• perverseness (עָֽוֶל׃, ʿāwel): ('avel) refers to injustice, unrighteousness, or wrongdoing. Similar to 'avone, it highlights a deviation from what is right and just, emphasizing a distorted moral judgment and ethical corruption that manifests in their speech.

• your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: This powerful parallelism portrays a comprehensive moral corruption of the people's actions. "Hands" and "fingers" represent their deeds, while "blood" and "iniquity" signify the guilt and defilement resulting from those actions. It is a striking image of guilt associated with violence and deep moral wrong.

• your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters perverseness: This second parallel illustrates the moral decay of their speech. "Lips" and "tongue" represent their verbal output, while "lies" and "perverseness" characterize the deceit and moral distortion embedded in their communication. The progression from overt "lies" to a "muttering" of "perverseness" suggests a continuous, even internalized, propensity towards evil in their verbal expression and thought.

Isaiah 59 3 Bonus section

The imagery used in this verse employs a merism, where contrasting or complementary body parts (hands/fingers, lips/tongue) represent the totality of human conduct. This emphasizes the thoroughness and ubiquity of the people's sin, touching every dimension of their active and verbal life. The prophet strategically uses these vivid, bodily metaphors to make the spiritual defilement intensely personal and undeniable. The verse implies that the root problem is not just doing sinful things, but that their very faculties (hands, lips, tongue) are consecrated to sinful practices. The strong visual of "blood" combined with the abstract "iniquity" paints a picture of severe moral breakdown, highlighting both literal violence and systemic injustice. This internal state of being steeped in iniquity is what the later prophetic messages and eventually the New Testament address as the need for radical inner transformation.

Isaiah 59 3 Commentary

Isaiah 59:3 serves as a profound exposé of pervasive human sinfulness, directly challenging any notion of self-righteousness. It is not merely an accusation of isolated transgressions but a diagnostic assessment of the corrupt condition of the heart and life. The verse outlines a progression of sin: from outward, tangible acts of violence ("hands defiled with blood") to more subtle yet equally damning acts of injustice ("fingers with iniquity"), then to explicit verbal deceit ("lips have spoken lies"), culminating in a constant internal and external preoccupation with wrong ("tongue mutters perverseness"). This comprehensive indictment underscores that sin permeates every aspect of existence – deeds, thoughts, and words. The Hebrew terms used for "defiled" (niḡəʾalû) and "iniquity" (ʿāwōn) emphasize a deep, inherent impurity and moral twisting. The verb "mutters" (tehgeh) suggests a continuous dwelling on and verbalizing of that which is perverse, reflecting a spirit hostile to truth and righteousness. The core message is clear: the separation between God and His people (as established in Isa 59:2) is not due to His inadequacy but due to humanity's ingrained and multi-faceted sin, making divine intervention through a redeemer absolutely essential.