The Meaning of Isaiah 1:29 Explained

Isaiah 1:29

KJV: For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

YLT: For men are ashamed because of the oaks That ye have desired, And ye are confounded because of the gardens That ye have chosen.

Darby: For they shall be ashamed of the terebinths that ye have desired, and ye shall blush for the gardens that ye have chosen.

ASV: For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For they shall be ashamed  of the oaks  which ye have desired,  and ye shall be confounded  for the gardens  that ye have chosen. 

What does Isaiah 1:29 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 1:21-31 - A Nation Purged Of Dross By Disaster
The great lover of our souls does not abandon His people even when they spurn the first overtures of His appealing pity. Though they refuse to yield to them, He refuses to cast them off; and sets Himself by the cleansing judgments of His providence to wean them from the evil ways they have chosen and to win them back to Himself. If only Jerusalem had now listened to Isaiah's earnest pleadings, she would never have been carried away into the seventy years' captivity in a land of strangers. This is the cleansing fire referred to in Isaiah 1:25. Their ground of confidence, whether in themselves or their allies, would be destroyed, Isaiah 1:29-30; the ringleaders of the evil which had brought them to desolation would be exterminated; and there would emerge a new and purified people as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Let us thank God for the cleansing fires in national and personal experience. Let us not fear them when plied by the hand of love. See Malachi 3:3 and John 15:2-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 1

1  Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5  He laments her judgments
10  He upbraids their whole service
16  He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21  Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25  He promises grace
28  And threatens destruction to the wicked

What do the individual words in Isaiah 1:29 mean?

For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens you have chosen
כִּ֣י יֵבֹ֔שׁוּ מֵאֵילִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר חֲמַדְתֶּ֑ם וְתַ֨חְפְּר֔וּ מֵהַגַּנּ֖וֹת בְּחַרְתֶּֽם

יֵבֹ֔שׁוּ  they  shall  be  ashamed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּושׁ 
Sense: to put to shame, be ashamed, be disconcerted, be disappointed.
מֵאֵילִ֖ים  of  the  oaks 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אַיִל 
Sense: ram.
חֲמַדְתֶּ֑ם  you  have  desired 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: חָמַד 
Sense: to desire, covet, take pleasure in, delight in.
וְתַ֨חְפְּר֔וּ  and  you  shall  be  embarrassed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: חָפַר  
Sense: to be ashamed, be confounded, be abashed, feel abashed.
מֵהַגַּנּ֖וֹת  because  of  the  gardens 
Parse: Preposition-m, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: גַּנָּה  
Sense: garden, orchard.
בְּחַרְתֶּֽם  you  have  chosen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: to choose, elect, decide for.