The Meaning of Isaiah 59:4 Explained

Isaiah 59:4

KJV: None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

YLT: There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.

Darby: none calleth for justice, none pleadeth in truthfulness. They trust in vanity, and speak falsehood; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

ASV: None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

None calleth  for justice,  nor [any] pleadeth  for truth:  they trust  in vanity,  and speak  lies;  they conceive  mischief,  and bring forth  iniquity. 

What does Isaiah 59:4 Mean?

Study Notes

trust
.
Trust is the characteristic O.T. word for the N.T. "faith," "believe." It occurs 152 times in the O.T., and is the rendering of Heb. words signifying to take refuge (e.g. Ruth 2:12 "to lean on" (e.g.) Psalms 56:3 "to roll on" (e.g.) Psalms 22:8 "to stay upon" (e.g.) Job 35:14 .

Verse Meaning

Justice was not coming out of the courts, but legal maneuvering and loopholes had taken the place of straightforward decisions. The people were using and abusing the legal system for their own ends rather than allowing it to sit in judgment on their actions. They were trying to confuse the issues and lie their way out of their responsibilities. Instead of conceiving the truth that would issue in righteousness, they were conceiving mischief that would bear iniquity (cf. Job 15:35; James 1:15).

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 59:4 mean?

No one calls for justice and Not does [any] plead for truth They trust in empty [words] and speak lies they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity
אֵין־ קֹרֵ֣א בְצֶ֔דֶק וְאֵ֥ין נִשְׁפָּ֖ט בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה בָּט֤וֹחַ עַל־ תֹּ֙הוּ֙ וְדַבֶּר־ שָׁ֔וְא הָר֥וֹ עָמָ֖ל וְהוֹלֵ֥יד אָֽוֶן

אֵין־  No  one 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
קֹרֵ֣א  calls 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
בְצֶ֔דֶק  for  justice 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.
וְאֵ֥ין  and  Not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
נִשְׁפָּ֖ט  does  [any]  plead 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁפַט  
Sense: to judge, govern, vindicate, punish.
בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה  for  truth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמוּנָה  
Sense: firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness.
בָּט֤וֹחַ  They  trust 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: בָּטוּחַ 
Sense: to trust.
תֹּ֙הוּ֙  empty  [words] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: תֹּהוּ  
Sense: formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness.
וְדַבֶּר־  and  speak 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
שָׁ֔וְא  lies 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁוְא  
Sense: emptiness, vanity, falsehood.
הָר֥וֹ  they  conceive 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: הֹור 
Sense: to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor.
עָמָ֖ל  evil 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָמָל  
Sense: .
וְהוֹלֵ֥יד  and  bring  forth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive absolute
Root: יָלַד 
Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.
אָֽוֶן  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָוֶן 
Sense: trouble, wickedness, sorrow.