Isaiah 32:7
in Isaiah 32The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
KJV
The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
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This verse in Isaiah 32
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSecond, the malice of his princes: the vessels, that is, the messengers and princes, of the deceitful, namely, of Sennacherib: a prince that gladly hears lying words, has all his servants wicked (Prov 29:12); and the execution of their malice: for he, namely, Rabsaces, about …
This site's exposition
No longer will a fool be called noble
on Isaiah 32:5-8
Under the righteous king, "No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected". The fool "leaves the hungry empty", the scoundrel "hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies". Matthew Henry noted that the promise corrects common speech, so that flattering names no longer cover greed.
This site's exposition
The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive
The Hebrew plays on the sound of scoundrel and his weapons, a wordplay no translation can carry. Barnes took the weapons to be words, court rulings and schemes turned against the poor. The needy lose even when their plea is just.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 32, Verses 1 onwards) Behold, the king shall reign with justice, and princes shall rule with judgment. And a man shall be like one who hides from the wind, and conceals himself from the storm: like streams of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a towering rock in a barren land. The eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen carefully. And the heart of fools shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers shall speak quickly and clearly.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They labour at it; their hearts are intent upon it, and with a great deal of art and application they work iniquity. They devise wicked devices with all the subtlety of the old serpent and a great deal of deliberation, which makes the sin exceedingly sinful; and the more there is of plot and management in a sin the more there is of Satan in it.
The instruments also of the churl are evil,....
A prophecy of the great disturbance that would be given to the kingdom in the middle of his reign by the Assyrian invasion,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The instruments also - In the Hebrew here there is a paronomasia which cannot be imitated in a translation. The word ‘instruments’ here denotes evidently the means by which the churl accomplishes his object; whether it be by words, by judicial decisions, or by crafty devices. This is also a kind of proverbial expression, and is given as a further reason why such a person would not be employed by a wise and virtuous prince.
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
churl--"the fraudulent"; this verse refers to the last clause of Isa 32:5; as Isa 32:6 referred to its first clause. speaketh right--pleadeth a just cause (Isa 29:21); spiritually, "the poor man's cause" is the divine doctrine, his rule of faith and practice.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The instruments also of the churl are evil “As for the niggard, his instruments are evil” - His machinations, his designs. The paronomasia, which the prophet frequently deals in, suggested this expression וכלי כליו vechelai kelaiv. The first word is expressed with some variety in the MSS. Seven MSS. read וכילי vekili, one וכל vechol, another וכולי vecoli. To destroy the poor with lying words “To defeat the assertions of the poor in judgment” - A word seems to have been lost here, and two others to have suffered a small alteration, which has made the sentence very obscure. The Septuagint have happily retained the rendering of the lost word, and restored the sentence in all its parts: Και διασκεδασαι λογους ταπεινων εν κρισει· ולהפר דברי אביון במשפט ulehapher dibrey ebyon bemishpat, “And disperse the words of the poor in judgment. “They frequently render the verb הפר haphar by διασκεδασαι, A MS. reads ולדבר uledabber, which gives authority for the preposition ל lamed, to, necessary to the sense, and the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read במשפט bemishpat, In judgment.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכֵלַ֖י | vekhelai | and a scoundrel | H3596 → | |
| כֵּלָ֣יו | kelav | weapons his | H3627 → | 325 times |
| רָעִ֑ים | raim | [are] evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| ה֚וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| זִמּ֣וֹת | zimot | evil purposes | H2154 → | |
| יָעָ֔ץ | yaatz | he plans | H3289 → | 79 times |
| לְחַבֵּ֤ל | lechabel | to ruin | H2254 → | 27 times |
| עֲנִיִּים֙ | anavim | afflicted [people] | H6041 → | 73 times |
| בְּאִמְרֵי־ | beimrei- | with words of | H561 → | |
| שֶׁ֔קֶר | sheker | falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
| וּבְדַבֵּ֥ר | uvedaber | and when speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶבְי֖וֹן | ʾevyon | [the] needy | H34 → | 61 times |
| מִשְׁפָּֽט׃ | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
וְכֵלַ֖יand a scoundrel
vekhelaiH3596 →
כֵּלָ֣יוweapons his
kelavH3627 →325 times
רָעִ֑ים[are] evil
raimH7451 →662 times
ה֚וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
זִמּ֣וֹתevil purposes
zimotH2154 →
יָעָ֔ץhe plans
yaatzH3289 →79 times
לְחַבֵּ֤לto ruin
lechabelH2254 →27 times
עֲנִיִּים֙afflicted [people]
anavimH6041 →73 times
בְּאִמְרֵי־with words of
beimrei-H561 →
שֶׁ֔קֶרfalsehood
shekerH8267 →113 times
וּבְדַבֵּ֥רand when speaks
uvedaberH1696 →1141 times
אֶבְי֖וֹן[the] needy
ʾevyonH34 →61 times
מִשְׁפָּֽט׃justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:2
to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
- Proverbs 17:15
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- Psalms 94:21
They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
- James 5:6
You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
- Proverbs 31:4–5
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
- Isaiah 10:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.