The Meaning of Isaiah 5:20 Explained

Isaiah 5:20

KJV: Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

YLT: Woe to those saying to evil 'good,' And to good 'evil,' Putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, Putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

Darby: Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

ASV: Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Woe  unto them that call  evil  good,  and good  evil;  that put  darkness  for light,  and light  for darkness;  that put  bitter  for sweet,  and sweet  for bitter! 

What does Isaiah 5:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The fourth bad product of the Israelite vineyard was perversity. The people were calling good what God called evil, and vice versa. For example, glorifying adultery and treating committed believers as dangerous radicals turns the truth on its head. They were mocking God"s ways publicly and privately. They refused to accept the standard of God"s revelation.
"Moral standards were destroyed by new definitions of sin (see Amos 5:7), people using God"s vocabulary but not His dictionary." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 5:18-30 - Warning Against Pride, Intemperance, And Corruption
The wild grapes of Judah are here continued: blind atheism, Isaiah 5:18-20; proud self-conceit, Isaiah 5:21; drunkenness, Isaiah 5:22; injustice in the courts, Isaiah 5:23-24. What a terrible description is that given in Isaiah 5:18 of the inevitable progress of sin! The bacchanalian procession which is seen, in Isaiah 5:14, descending with music and flowers into the open gates of Hades is described in Isaiah 5:18 as being drawn down by a cable. Men begin with a thread, but the thread of habit becomes a rope, and the rope grows to a cable, which ultimately lands a man in the pit. From Isaiah 5:25 onward we have the description of impending judgment. Earthquakes, armed raids, civil strife, and famine fever, the devastating inroads of hostile invasion, a desolate land and a hungry sea such would be the forces of destruction which Judah's sin would unloose. Recent events have revealed the terror of such a visitation. Remember that the wrath of love is as severe as a consuming fire. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 5

1  Under the parable of a vineyard, God excuses his severe judgment
8  His judgments upon covetousness
11  Upon lasciviousness
13  Upon impiety
20  And upon injustice
26  The executioners of God's judgments

What do the individual words in Isaiah 5:20 mean?

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter -
ה֣וֹי הָאֹמְרִ֥ים לָרַ֛ע ט֖וֹב וְלַטּ֣וֹב רָ֑ע שָׂמִ֨ים חֹ֤שֶׁךְ לְאוֹר֙ וְא֣וֹר לְחֹ֔שֶׁךְ מַ֛ר לְמָת֖וֹק וּמָת֥וֹק ! לְמָֽר ס

ה֣וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
הָאֹמְרִ֥ים  to  those  who  call 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לָרַ֛ע  evil 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
ט֖וֹב  good 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
וְלַטּ֣וֹב  and  good 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
רָ֑ע  evil 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
שָׂמִ֨ים  who  put 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
חֹ֤שֶׁךְ  darkness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹשֶׁךְ  
Sense: darkness, obscurity.
לְאוֹר֙  for  light 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
וְא֣וֹר  and  light 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
לְחֹ֔שֶׁךְ  for  darkness 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹשֶׁךְ  
Sense: darkness, obscurity.
מַ֛ר  bitter 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מַר 
Sense: bitter, bitterness.
לְמָת֖וֹק  for  sweet 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מָתֹוק  
Sense: sweet.
וּמָת֥וֹק  and  sweet 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מָתֹוק  
Sense: sweet.
! לְמָֽר  for  bitter 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מַר 
Sense: bitter, bitterness.
ס    - 
Parse: Punctuation