The Meaning of Isaiah 59:13 Explained

Isaiah 59:13

KJV: In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

YLT: Transgressing, and lying against Jehovah, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostasy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood.

Darby: in transgressing and lying against Jehovah, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

ASV: transgressing and denying Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In transgressing  and lying  against the LORD,  and departing away  from  our God,  speaking  oppression  and revolt,  conceiving  and uttering  from the heart  words  of falsehood. 

What does Isaiah 59:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The people acknowledged sins against God and against other people. They also admitted sins of omission and sins of commission, sins of action and sins of attitude, sins of the mouth and sins of the hands.

Context Summary

Isaiah 59:1-15 - Iniquities Separate From God
Israel's sins, Isaiah 59:1-8. Much of our suffering in life results from our sins, which cut off God's health and help. Let us not blame Providence, but set ourselves to discover the cause of controversy. When the law courts-the fountains of justice-are demoralized, the community is in a hopeless condition, Isaiah 59:3-4. Instead of stamping out evil in the egg, the sinful heart hatches it out, and it yields the poison of vipers, Isaiah 59:5. Ah, the hapless state of the ungodly! Their feet, and their thoughts, and their paths, are fatal to the peace of others and to their own. The way of peace can be entered only at the Cross, and maintained only by constant watchfulness. See Luke 1:79.
Israel's confession, Isaiah 59:9-15. Here the stricken people pour out their complaint before God, confessing, first, the bitterness of their sufferings and then the blackness of their sins. The roar of the hungry bear for food and the dove's mourning for her mate, Isaiah 59:11, are apt descriptions of the complaint of the penitent soul. It is a good sign when a man cannot lift up his eyes to heaven and beats upon his breast, Luke 18:13. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 59

1  Calamities are not due to lack of saving power in God, but to their own sins
16  Salvation is only of God
20  The covenant of the Redeemer

What do the individual words in Isaiah 59:13 mean?

In transgressing and lying against Yahweh and departing from our God Speaking oppression and revolt Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood
פָּשֹׁ֤עַ וְכַחֵשׁ֙ בַּֽיהוָ֔ה וְנָס֖וֹג מֵאַחַ֣ר אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ דַּבֶּר־ עֹ֣שֶׁק וְסָרָ֔ה הֹר֧וֹ וְהֹג֛וֹ מִלֵּ֖ב דִּבְרֵי־ שָֽׁקֶר

פָּשֹׁ֤עַ  In  transgressing 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: פָּשַׁע  
Sense: to rebel, transgress, revolt.
וְכַחֵשׁ֙  and  lying 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: כָּחַשׁ  
Sense: to deceive, lie, fail, grow lean, be disappointing, be untrue, be insufficient, be found liars, belie, deny, dissemble, deal falsely.
בַּֽיהוָ֔ה  against  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וְנָס֖וֹג  and  departing 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive absolute
Root: שׂוּג  
Sense: to move away, backslide, move, go, turn back.
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ  our  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
דַּבֶּר־  Speaking 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
עֹ֣שֶׁק  oppression 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹשֶׁק  
Sense: oppression, extortion, injury.
וְסָרָ֔ה  and  revolt 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: סָרָה 
Sense: apostasy, defection, turning aside, withdrawal.
הֹר֧וֹ  Conceiving 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: הֹור 
Sense: to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor.
וְהֹג֛וֹ  and  uttering 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: הָגָה  
Sense: to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, speak.
מִלֵּ֖ב  from  the  heart 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
דִּבְרֵי־  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
שָֽׁקֶר  of  falsehood 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁקֶר  
Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.