the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
Updated Bible Version
Isaiah 10:1
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
Woe to those who enact evil statutesAnd to those who constantly record mischief,
Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,
Wo be vnto them that make vnrighteous lawes, and that causeth their actuaries to wryte greeuousnesse,
Woe unto them that decree iniquitous decrees, and to the writers that prescribe oppression,
"Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed
Woe to those who decree decrees of injustice, and writers who write toil;
Just look at those lawmakers who write evil laws and make life hard for the people.
Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write perverseness;
Woe vnto them that decree vnrighteous decrees, and that write grieuousnesse which they haue prescribed:
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
Wo be vnto you yt make vnrightuous lawes, and devyse thinges, which be to harde for to kepe:
Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims— Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you? A sorry sight you'll be then, huddled with the prisoners, or just some corpses stacked in the street. Even after all this, God is still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes, And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjust and oppressive decisions,
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;
Cursed are those who make evil decisions, and the writers who make the records of their cruel acts:
Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness [which] they have prescribed;
Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, those who are always instituting unfair regulations,
You people are in for trouble! You have made cruel and unfair laws
Woe to those who enact unjust decrees and draft oppressive legislation
Wo vnto them that decree wicked decrees, and write grieuous things,
WOE to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and who write unjust decrees;
Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write perverseness;
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write iniquity;
What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws.
It is bad for those who make laws that are not fair. It is bad for those who make it hard for people.
Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write wickedness,
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness:
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes,
Alas! for them who ordain iniquitous decree, - And, busy writers, who make a business of writing mischief:
Woe to them that make wicked laws: and when they write, write injustice:
Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil, and writers who have written harm,
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes And to those who constantly record harmful decisions,
How terrible it will be for those who make unfair laws, and those who write laws that make life hard for people.
You are doomed! You make unjust laws that oppress my people.
Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws
Wo to them that maken wickid lawis, and thei writynge han wryte vnriytfulnesse, for to oppresse pore men in doom,
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,
Wo [to] those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
am 3291, bc 713
Woe: Isaiah 3:11, Isaiah 5:8, Isaiah 5:11, Isaiah 5:18, Isaiah 5:20-22, Jeremiah 22:13, Habakkuk 2:6, Habakkuk 2:9, Habakkuk 2:12, Habakkuk 2:15, Habakkuk 2:19, Matthew 11:21, Matthew 23:13-16, Matthew 23:23, Matthew 23:27, Matthew 23:29, Matthew 26:24, Luke 11:42-44, Luke 11:46, Luke 11:47, Luke 11:52, Jude 1:11
them: 1 Kings 21:13, Esther 3:10-13, Psalms 58:2, Psalms 94:20, Psalms 94:21, Daniel 6:8, Daniel 6:9, Micah 3:1-4, Micah 3:9-11, Micah 6:16, John 9:22, John 19:6
that write grievousness: or, to the writers that write grievousness
Reciprocal: Exodus 23:6 - General Psalms 10:5 - His Isaiah 1:23 - they judge Isaiah 59:14 - General Jeremiah 8:8 - in vain Daniel 2:13 - the decree Daniel 3:10 - hast made Amos 5:7 - turn Zephaniah 3:6 - cut Acts 26:12 - with 1 Corinthians 6:9 - unrighteous
Cross-References
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created Adam, in the likeness of God he made him;
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, [and] perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God.
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.
And you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
These three were the sons of Noah: and of these was the whole earth spread over.
The Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees,.... Or, "O ye that decree", c. הוי being a sign of the vocative case, and an interjection of calling, as Aben Ezra observes though the Targum and other versions understand it of a threatening denounced; and is to be understood as lying against lawgivers and judges, political rulers and governors of the people, that made unrighteous laws; laws which were not agreeable to the law of God, nor right reason; and were injurious to the persons and properties of men; and which were calculated for the oppression of good men, especially the poor, and for the protection of wicked men, who made no conscience of spoiling them:
and that write grievousness [which] they have prescribed; laws grievous and intolerable being made by them, they wrote them, or ordered them to be written, to be engrossed and promulgated, published them, and obliged the people to be subject to them. This some understand of the scribes of judges, who sat in court, and wrote out the decrees and sentences made by them; but it rather intends the same persons as before; and not ecclesiastical but political governors are meant, and such as lived before the Babylonish captivity; or otherwise the whole is applicable to the Scribes and Pharisees, to the Misnic doctors, the authors of the oral law, the fathers of tradition, whose decisions and decrees were unrighteous and injurious, and contrary to the commands of God; heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and very oppressive of the poor, the fatherless, and the widow; for which they are reproved by Christ, Matthew 15:3 Jarchi says it is an Arabic g word, which signifies scribes.
g So and Scriba, Golius, col. 1999; so the word is used in the Chaldee and Syriac languages. See Castel. col. 1828, 1829.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees - To those who frame statutes that are oppressive and iniquitous. The prophet here refers, doubtless, to the rulers and judges of the land of Judea. A similar description he had before given; Isaiah 1:10, Isaiah 1:23, ...
And that write ... - Hebrew, ‘And to the writers who write violence.’ The word translated “grievousness,” עמל ‛âmâl, denotes properly “wearisome labor, trouble, oppression, injustice.” Here, it evidently refers to the judges who declared oppressive and unjust sentences, and caused them to be recorded. It does not refer to the mere scribes, or recorders of the judicial opinions, but to the judges themselves, who pronounced the sentence, and caused it to be recorded. The manner of making Eastern decrees differs from ours: they are first written, and then the magistrate authenticates them, or annuls them. This, I remember, is the Arab manner, according to D’Arvieux. When an Arab wanted a favor of the emir, the way was to apply to the secretary, who drew up a decree according to the request of the party; if the emir granted the favor, he printed his seal upon it; if not, he returned it torn to the petitioner. Sir John Chardin confirms this account, and applies it, with great propriety, to the illustration of a passage which I never thought of when I read over D’Arvieux. After citing Isaiah 10:1, ‘Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write grievousness,’ for so our translators have rendered the latter part of the verse in the margin, much more agreeably than in the body of the version, Sir John goes on, ‘The manner of making the royal acts and ordinances hath a relation to this; they are always drawn up according to the request; the first minister, or he whose office it is, writes on the side of it, “according to the king’s will,” and from thence it is sent to the secretary of state, who draws up the order in form.’ - Harmer.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER X
God's judgments against oppressive rulers, 1-4.
The prophet foretells the invasion of Sennacherib, and the
destruction of his army. That mighty monarch is represented as
a rod in the hand of God to correct his people for their sins;
and his ambitious purposes, contrary to his own intentions, are
made subservient to the great desires of Providence, 5-11.
Having accomplished this work, the Almighty takes account of
his impious vauntings, 12-14;
and threatens utter destruction to the small and great of his
army, represented by the thorns, and the glory of the forest,
15-19.
This leads the prophet to comfort his countrymen with the
promise of the signal interposition of God in their favour,
24-27.
Brief description of the march of Sennarherib towards
Jerusalem, and of the alarm and terror which he spread every
where as he hastened forward, 28-32.
The spirit and rapidity of the description is admirably suited
to the subject. The affrighted people are seen fleeing, and
the eager invader pursuing; the cries of one city are heard by
those of another; and groan swiftly succeeds to groan, till at
length the rod is lifted over the last citadel. In this
critical situation, however, the promise of a Divine
interposition is seasonably renewed. The scene instantly
changes; the uplifted arm of this mighty conqueror is at once
arrested and laid low by the hand of heaven; the forest of
Lebanon, (a figure by which the immense Assyrian host is
elegantly pointed out, is hewn down by the axe of the Divine
vengeance; and the mind is equally pleased with the equity of
the judgment, and the beauty and majesty of the description,
33, 34.
NOTES ON CHAP. X
