the Sixth Week after Epiphany
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Revised Standard Version
Isaiah 5:18
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Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
Woe vnto them, that draw iniquitie with cordes of vanitie, and sinne, as with cart ropes:
Woe to those who drag iniquitywith cords of deceitand pull sin along with cart ropes,
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with cart-ropes!
Look at those people! They pull their guilt and sins behind them like people pulling wagons with ropes.
Woe (judgment is coming) to those who drag along wickedness with cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes [towing their own punishment];
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil.
Woe to those who begin by pulling at transgression with a thread, but end by dragging sin along as if with a cart rope.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope,
Woe vnto them that draw iniquitie with cords of vanitie, and sinne, as it were with a cart rope:
Woe to them that draw sins to them as with a long rope, and iniquities as with a thong of the heifer’s yoke:
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
Ah! Those who drag iniquity along with the cords of falsehood and sin as with rope of the cart,
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with ropes of a cart;
How terrible it will be for those people! They pull their guilt and sins behind them as people pull wagons with ropes.
Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes.
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!
It is bad for those who pull sin along with ropes of lies, who pull wrong-doing as with a wagon rope,
Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood, who drag sin along as with cart ropes,
Alas! for them Who draw on themselves punishment with cords of falsehood, - And as with waggon-bands, penalty:
Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as the rope of a cart.
Woe to them that spin out their iniquities like a long rope, and their sins are like a bridle on the neck of a heifer;
You are doomed! You are unable to break free from your sins.
Woe to those who drag wrongdoing with the cords of deceit, And sin as if with cart ropes;
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope:
Wo be vnto them that drawe wickednesse with cordes of vanitie, and sinne as it were with a cart rope.
Wo to you that drawen wickydnesse in the cordis of vanyte, and drawen synne as the boond of a wayn; and ye seien,
Wo [to] those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as [with] thick ropes of the cart -- sin.
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
Woe to those that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin!
Wo vnto vayne persones, that drawe wickednes vnto the, as it were with a coorde: and synne, as it were with a cart rope.
Doom to you who use lies to sell evil, who haul sin to market by the truckload, Who say, "What's God waiting for? Let him get a move on so we can see it. Whatever The Holy of Israel has cooked up, we'd like to check it out."
Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes;
Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of worthlessness,And sin as if with cart ropes,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
draw: Isaiah 28:15, Judges 17:5, Judges 17:13, 2 Samuel 16:20-23, Psalms 10:11, Psalms 14:1, Psalms 36:2, Psalms 94:5-11, Jeremiah 5:31, Jeremiah 8:5-9, Jeremiah 23:10, Jeremiah 23:14, Jeremiah 23:24, Jeremiah 28:15, Jeremiah 28:16, Jeremiah 44:15-19, Ezekiel 13:10, Ezekiel 13:11, Ezekiel 13:22, Zephaniah 1:12, John 16:2, Acts 26:9
Reciprocal: Proverbs 16:27 - diggeth Proverbs 30:8 - Remove Ecclesiastes 8:11 - sentence Isaiah 3:8 - because Isaiah 10:1 - Woe Isaiah 29:15 - seek Isaiah 30:1 - add Jeremiah 9:5 - weary Jeremiah 36:23 - he cut Malachi 2:17 - Where 2 Peter 3:4 - where
Cross-References
Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Thus all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
When Ma-hal'alel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared.
Enoch, Methu'selah, Lamech;
the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Maha'lale-el, the son of Ca-i'nan,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity,.... The prophet returns to the wicked again, and goes on with the account of their sin and punishment; and here describes such, not that are drawn into sin unawares, through the prevalence of their own hearts' lusts and corruptions, through the temptations of Satan, the snares of the world, or the persuasions of others; but such who draw it to themselves, seek after it, and willingly commit it; who rush and force themselves into it; who solicit it, and seek and take all occasions and opportunities of doing it; and take a great deal of pains about it; and make use of all arguments, reasonings, and pretences they can devise, to engage themselves and others in the practice of it; which are all cords of vanity, fallacious and deceitful.
And sin as it were with a cart rope; using all diligence, wisdom, policy, and strength; labouring with all might and main to effect it. Some by "iniquity" and "sin" understand punishment, as the words used sometimes signify; and that the sense is, that such persons described by their boldness and impudence in sinning, by their impenitence and hardness of heart, and by adding sin to sin, draw upon themselves swift destruction, and the greater damnation. The Targum interprets it of such that begin with lesser sins, and increase to more ungodliness; paraphrasing it thus,
"woe to them that begin to sin a little, and they go on and increase until that they are strong, and "their" sins "are" as a cart rope;''
to which agrees that saying in the Talmud g,
"the evil imagination or corruption of nature at first is like a spider's thread, but at last it is like to cart ropes; as it is said, "woe to them that draw iniquity", &c.''
g T. Bab. Succa, fol. 52. 1. & Sanhedrin, fol. 99. 2. Vid. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 22. fol. 19. 2.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Wo unto them ... - This is a new denunciation. It introduces another form of sin, and threatens its appropriate punishment.
That draw iniquity with cords of vanity - The general idea in this verse and the next, is, doubtless, that of plunging deeper and deeper into sin. The word “sin” here, has been sometimes supposed to mean “the punishment” for sin. The word has that meaning sometimes, but it seems here to be taken in its usual sense. The word “cords” means strings of any kind, larger or smaller; and the expression “cords of vanity,” is supposed to mean “small, slender, feeble” strings, like the web of a spider. The word vanity שׁוא shâv', May, perhaps, have the sense here of falsehood or deceit; and the cords of deceit may denote the schemes of evil, the plans for deceiving people, or of bringing them into a snare, as the fowler springs his deceitful snare upon the unsuspecting bird. The Chaldee translates it, ‘Woe to those who begin to sin by little and little, drawing sin by cords of vanity; these sins grow and increase until they are strong, and are like a cart-rope.’ The Septuagint renders it, ‘Woe to those who draw sin with a long cable;’ that is,” one sin is added to another, until it comes to an enormous length, and the whole is drawn along together. Probably the true idea is that of the ancient interpretation of the rabbis, ‘An evil inclination is at first like a fine hair string, but the finishing like a cart-rope.’ At first, they draw sin with a slender cord, then they go on to greater deeds of iniquity that urge them on, and draw them with their main strength, as with a cart-rope. They make a strong “effort” to commit iniquity.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 5:18. With a cart-rope - "As a long cable"] The Septuagint, Aquila, Sym., and Theod., for בחבלי bechabley, read כחבלי kechahley, ως σχοινιω, or σχοινιοις; and the Septuagint, instead of שוא shau, read some other word signifying long; ως σχοινιωμακρω; and so likewise the Syriac, אריכא arecha. Houbigant conjectures that the word which the Septuagint had in their copies was שרוע sarua, which is used Leviticus 21:18; Leviticus 22:23, for something in an animal body superfluous, lengthened beyond its natural measure. And he explains it of sin added to sin, and one sin drawing on another, till the whole comes to an enormous length and magnitude; compared to the work of a rope-maker still increasing and lengthening his rope, with the continued addition of new materials. "Eos propheta similes facit homini restiario, qui funem torquet, cannabe addita et contorta, eadem iterans, donec funem in longum duxerit, neque eum liceat protrahi longius." "An evil inclination," says Kimchi on this place, from the ancient rabbins, "is at the beginning like a fine hair-string, but at the finishing like a thick cart-rope." By a long progression in iniquity, and a continued accumulation of sin, men arrive at length to the highest degree of wickedness; bidding open defiance to God, and scoffing at his threatened judgments, as it is finely expressed in the next verse. The Chaldee paraphrast explains it in the same manner, of wickedness increasing from small beginnings, till it arrives to a great magnitude. - L.
I believe neither the rabbins nor Bishop Lowth have hit on the true meaning of this place, the prophet seems to refer to idol sacrifices. The victims they offered were splendidly decked out for the sacrifice. Their horns and hoofs were often gilded, and their heads dressed out with fillets and garlands. The cords of vanity may refer to the silken strings by which they were led to the altar, some of which were unusually thick. The offering for iniquity was adorned with fillets and garlands; the sin-offering with silken cords, like unto cart-ropes. Pride, in their acts of humiliation, had the upper hand.
