Isaiah 29:21
in Isaiah 29those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that make a man an offender in his cause, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought.
KJV
That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
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This verse in Isaiah 29
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That make a man an offender - literally, ‘who cause a man to sin’ (מחטיאי machăṭı̂y'ēy); that is, who hold a man to be guilty, or a criminal.
This site's exposition
the ruthless will vanish
on Isaiah 29:20-21
In verse 20 "the ruthless will vanish", and verse 21 names them. They "indict a man with a word", they "ensnare the mediator at the gate", and they "with false charges deprive the innocent of justice". Wesley and Clarke take the gate here as the place of judgment.
This site's exposition
who ensnare the mediator at the gate
To indict a man with a word renders a Hebrew phrase meaning to make a man a sinner, that is, to declare him guilty. John Wesley places the mediator at the gate, where the people gathered and the prophets gave their messages. The ruthless turned justice against the prophets.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 21). Why do people sin in words and overthrow the one who argues at the gate? And they turned away in vain from the just. But the demons, themselves wicked, made all men sin in speech, blaspheming with various teachings, and they would overthrow the one reproaching in the gate and in judgment as much as they could, and they made him turn away from righteousness, who was in the gates of the daughter of Zion, exalted from the gates of death; and he rebuked those who hated him in the gates.
The Medieval Church1 voice
That made men sin, by wicked example and teaching; that reproved them in the gate, as to contempt of instruction: they have hated him that rebukes in the gate (Amos 5:10); and declined in vain from the just, as to the vanity of sin, for …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For him - For God's faithful prophets and ministers. The gate - There the people used to assemble, both upon civil and sacred accounts, and there prophets used to deliver their prophecies. The just - The faithful ministers of God.
They put the worst construction upon what was said, and made it criminal by strained innuendoes. Those who consider how apt we all are to speak unadvisedly, and to mistake what we hear, will think it very unjust and unfair to make a man an offender for a word. (4.) They did all they could to bring those into trouble that dealt faithfully with them and told them of their faults.
That make a man an offender for a word,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Am 5:10, 12). just--one who has a just cause; or, Jesus Christ, "the Just One" [HORSLEY]. for a thing of naught--rather, "through falsehood," "by a decision that is null in justice" [BARNES]. Compare as to Christ, Pr 28:21;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Him that reproveth in the gate “Him that pleaded in the gate” - “They are heard by the treasurer, master of the horse, and other principal officers of the regency of Algiers, who sit constantly in the gate of the palace for that purpose:” that is, the distribution of justice. - Shaw’s Travels, p. 315, fol. He adds in the note, “That we read of the elders in the gate. Deu 21:15; Deu 25:7; and, Isa 29:21; Amo 5:10, of him that reproveth and rebuketh in the gate. The Ottoman court likewise seems to have been called the Porte, from the distribution of justice and the dispatch of public business that is carried on in the gates of it.”
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַחֲטִיאֵ֤י | machatiei | [those who] cause to sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| אָדָם֙ | ʾadam | <of> a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| בְּדָבָ֔ר | bedavar | with a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וְלַמּוֹכִ֥יחַ | velamokhiach | and for the [one who] adjudicates | H3198 → | 59 times |
| בַּשַּׁ֖עַר | bashaar | in the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| יְקֹשׁ֑וּן | yekoshun | they lay a trap ! | H6983 → | |
| וַיַּטּ֥וּ | vaiyatu | and they have turned aside | H5186 → | 214 times |
| בַתֹּ֖הוּ | vatohu | with <the> emptiness | H8414 → | 20 times |
| צַדִּֽיק׃ ס | tzadik | [the] righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
מַחֲטִיאֵ֤י[those who] cause to sin
machatieiH2398 →238 times
אָדָם֙<of> a person
ʾadamH120 →551 times
בְּדָבָ֔רwith a word
bedavarH1697 →1440 times
וְלַמּוֹכִ֥יחַand for the [one who] adjudicates
velamokhiachH3198 →59 times
בַּשַּׁ֖עַרin the gate
bashaarH8179 →374 times
יְקֹשׁ֑וּןthey lay a trap !
yekoshunH6983 →
וַיַּטּ֥וּand they have turned aside
vaiyatuH5186 →214 times
בַתֹּ֖הוּwith <the> emptiness
vatohuH8414 →20 times
צַדִּֽיק׃ ס[the] righteous [person]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
it leads to
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Through
Acts 3:14You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
it leads to
- Mark 1:24
“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Acts 4:27
In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
- James 5:6
You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
- Mark 1:24
Through
James 5:6You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:22–23
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- Acts 8:32
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
- 1 Peter 2:22–23
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.