Isaiah 3:11
in Isaiah 3Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him.
KJV
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Wo unto the wicked - To all the wicked - but here having particular reference to the Jews whom Isaiah was addressing. It shall be ill with him - The word “ill” is the only word here in the original. It is an emphatic mode of speaking - expressing deep abhorrence and suddenness of denunciation. ‘Woe to the impious! Ill!’ For the reward of his hands - Of his conduct. The hands are the instruments by which we accomplish anything, and hence, they are put for the whole man.
This site's exposition
Tell the righteous it will
on Isaiah 3:10-11
Verses 10 and 11 break the oracle with a couplet of assurance: the righteous "will enjoy the fruit of their labor" while the nation falls. The wicked "will be repaid with what their hands have done," so the ruin is measured to conduct within a judgment on the whole nation.
This site's exposition
they will be repaid with what their hands have done
Verses 10 and 11 set the righteous and the wicked side by side, each receiving the fruit of their own doings. The same rule stands at Galatians 6:7. Adam Clarke traced the wicked man's evil through his heart, his purposes and his life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 10, 11.) Woe to their souls, for evil has been repaid to them. Speak to the righteous, for they are well, for they have eaten the fruit of their inventions. Woe to the wicked for evil, for the retribution of his hands will be upon him. According to the Hebrew and other interpreters, this is the meaning: Woe to them because they have received their own wickedness. Therefore, you who hear or read the book of the Prophet, praise the righteousness of God, for he has done good, for the wicked have consumed the labors of their hands.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he places the punishment of the wicked, saying, woe to the wicked unto evil, that is, for the evil which threatens them, the reward of his hands shall be given him: the sinner has been caught in the works of his own hands (Ps …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the L ORD , to provoke the eyes of his glory.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v8
25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. The prophet's business was to show all sorts of people what they had contributed to the national guilt and what share they must expect in the national judgments that were coming.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:29w-of-61
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
THERE are two classes mentioned here, the righteous and the wicked. And into these two orders the Book of God is accustomed to divide the whole population of the globe. It speaks but little of upper and lower classes. It says but little concerning the various ranks into which civil and political institutions have divided the race of man—but from its first page to its last it is taken up with this grand division—the righteous and the wicked. Very early in human history we find the "Seed of the woman," and the "seed of the serpent."
THERE are two classes mentioned here, the righteous and the wicked. And into these two orders the Book of God is accustomed to divide the whole population of the globe. It speaks but little of upper and lower classes. It says but little concerning the various ranks into which civil and political institutions have divided the race of man—but from its first page to its last it is taken up with this grand division—the righteous and the wicked. Very early in human history we find the "Seed of the woman," and the "seed of the serpent." And we meet with Cain, who was of that Wicked One, and slew his brother, because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous. While the deluge destroys the ungodly, Noah floats in the ark in security as the representative of the righteous. And when the destroying angel smites the rebellious Egyptians, Israel feasts in safety upon the Passover. The two races have always been in existence and at enmity. Israel was oppressed in Egypt, attacked by Amalekites in the wilderness, beset by foes in Canaan and carried away captive into Assyria or Babylon. In the nation of Israel itself the very heart of the people was depraved by an idolatrous seed and at length eaten out by the hypocrisy of a generation of vipers who were of Israel, but were not the Lord's chosen. In our own age, when the Church of God is found among the Gentiles, we see still the broad mark of distinction between men who fear the Lord and men who fear Him not. The line of nature and the line of Divine Grace run the same as ever—the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent contend with each other still. And it is not the intent of God in His Providence that the line of demarcation should be withdrawn.
Wo unto the wicked - לרשע lerasha, the man who is, 1. Evil in his heart. 2. Evil in his purposes. 3. Evil in his life. As he is wicked, he does that which is wicked; and is influenced by the wicked one, of whom he is the servant and the son. It shall be ill with him, רע ra; in a single word say to him - evil! Of him you can speak no good; and to him you can speak no good - all is evil, in him - before him - after him - round about him - above him - below him. Evil in time - evil through eternity! The reward of his hands - What he has deserved he shall get. He shall be paid that for which he has labored, and his reward shall be in proportion to his work. O, what a lot is that of the wicked! Cursed in time, and accursed through eternity!
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Woe to the wicked [who does] evil For he is bad to himself and to others; he brings about harm to himself and to others. [This is found] in Tanchuma (Emor 5).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Praise the righteous man for he is good Say to the righteous man that he did good.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| א֖וֹי | ʾo | woe! | H188 → | 24 times |
| לְרָשָׁ֣ע | lerasha' | to [the] wicked | H7563 → | 263 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | it will be bad | H7489 → | 107 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גְמ֥וּל | gemul | [the] dealing of | H1576 → | 19 times |
| יָדָ֖יו | yadav | hands his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יֵעָ֥שֶׂה | yeaseh | it will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לּֽוֹ׃ | lo | to him |
א֖וֹיwoe!
ʾoH188 →24 times
לְרָשָׁ֣עto [the] wicked
lerasha'H7563 →263 times
רָ֑עit will be bad
ra'H7489 →107 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גְמ֥וּל[the] dealing of
gemulH1576 →19 times
יָדָ֖יוhands his
yadavH3027 →1618 times
יֵעָ֥שֶׂהit will be done
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
לּֽוֹ׃to him
lo
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
Isaiah 48:22“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 57:21
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 15:20–24
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
- Luke 19:42
and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Isaiah 57:21
Through
James 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 6:15
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
- Proverbs 21:13
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Ephesians 2:4–7
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Matthew 5:7
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); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 729: “Cheering Words and Solemn Warnings” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.