Isaiah 33:15
in Isaiah 33He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil:
KJV
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
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This verse in Isaiah 33
Commentary
14 notes on this verseThere are some who indeed do not receive rewards of money from ordination, yet bestow sacred orders for human favor, and from that very generosity seek only the recompense of praise. These certainly do not bestow freely what was freely received, because from the service of holiness they have rendered, they seek the coin of favor. Hence the prophet spoke well when describing the just man, saying: Who shakes his hands free from every gift.
This site's exposition
He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity
on Isaiah 33:15-16
The answer is a portrait the older commentators set beside Psalm 15: "He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion". To him is promised that "he will dwell on the heights", and "his food will be provided and his water assured".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 13 et seq.) Hear, you who are far away, what I have done, and know the strength of my neighbors. Sinners are terrified in Zion, hypocrites are trembling. Who among you can dwell with devouring fire? Who among you can endure everlasting burnings? The one who walks in righteousness and speaks truth, who rejects greed by slander, and keeps his hands away from every gift, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil.
The Medieval Church3 voices
We must bear in mind too that there are three ways in which deceit itself is practised, in that, surely, the object aimed at in it is either the secret interest of our fellow creatures' feelings, or the breath of applause, or some outward advantage; contrary to which it is rightly said of the righteous man by the prophet, "Blessed is he that shaketh his hands clear of every favour." For as deceit does not consist only in the receiving of money; so, no doubt, a favour is not confined to one thing, but there are three ways of receiving favours after which deceit goeth in haste. For a favour from the heart, is interest solicited in the opinion, a favour from the mouth is glory from applause, a favour from the head a reward by gift. Now every righteous man 'shaketh his hands clear of every favour,' in that in whatever he does aright, he neither aims to win vainglory from the affections of his fellow creatures, nor applause from their lips, nor a gift from their hands. And so he alone is not guilty of deceit in doing God's work, who while he is energetic in studying right conduct, neither pants after the rewards of earthly substance, nor after words of applause, nor after favour in man's judgment. Therefore because our very good actions themselves cannot escape the sword of ambushed sin, unless they be guarded every day by anxious fear, it is rightly said in this place by the holy man, I was afraid of all my works.
Taking bribes is a violation of the truth. Therefore, it is said of the just man: "He who cleanses his hands of every gift will live on the heights."
724. Second, he shows fitness, removing three things to which the Jews were prone, namely, avarice as to things taken away unjustly: that casts away avarice by oppression, and as to things received illiberally, and shakes his hands from all bribes; second, as to cruelty …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In the whole course of his conversation he acts by rules of equity, and makes conscience of rendering to all their due, to God his due, as well as to men theirs. His walk is righteousness itself; he would not for a world wilfully do an unjust thing. (2.) He speaks uprightly, uprightnesses (so the word is); he speaks what is true and right, and with an honest intention.
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He - Who is just in all his dealings. From hearing - Who will not hearken to any counsels, tending to shed innocent blood. From seeing - That abhors the very sight of sin committed by others, and guards his eyes from beholding occasions of sin.
He that walketh righteously,.... These are the words of the prophet, in answer to those of the hypocrites.
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He that walketh righteously - In this and the following verses the prophet presents, in contrast, the confidence and the security of the righteous. He first, in this verse, describes the characteristics of the righteous, and in the following verses their confidence in God, and their security and safety. The first characteristic of the righteous man is that he walks righteously; that is, he lives righteously; he does right. And speaketh uprightly - The second characteristic - his words are well-ordered. lie is not false, perfidious, slanderous, or obscene in his words.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In contrast to the trembling "sinners in Zion" (Isa 33:14), the righteous shall be secure amid all judgments; they are described according to the Old Testament standpoint of righteousness (Ps 15:2; 24:4). stoppeth . . . ears . . . eyes--"Rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1Co 13:6; contrast Isa 29:20; The senses are avenues for the entrance of sin (Ps 119:37).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
THERE were terrible times in Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah. The Assyrian power was exceedingly formidable and it was ferocious to the last degree. Woe to the unhappy land which fell under the power of this spoiler! Assyria knew not the meaning of "mercy." It came down "like a wolf on the fold," tearing and devouring without pity.
THERE were terrible times in Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah. The Assyrian power was exceedingly formidable and it was ferocious to the last degree. Woe to the unhappy land which fell under the power of this spoiler! Assyria knew not the meaning of "mercy." It came down "like a wolf on the fold," tearing and devouring without pity. The armies of Sennacherib were ravaging the kingdom of Judah and they had brought it into such a state that the Prophet cried, "The earth mourns and languishes: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits." Before the invaders the land was a garden and behind them it was a desolate wilderness. Yet the Lord had given a promise to His people in Jerusalem on this wise—"therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, says the Lord." Notwithstanding Rabshakeh's blasphemous letter and all his foul reviling, those who trusted in Jehovah were not dismayed, for the Lord had promised to defend the city for His own name's sake. There were godly men in the city, though I fear they were not many, who rested content with the sure promise of God and went about their daily business feeling perfectly safe. They would have felt secure if the whole land had swarmed with Assyrians as the fields with locusts, for they believed the Word of the Lord. Their trust was in the living God and therefore, they feared not the multitude of the enemy! But the whole of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were not of this brave or-der—the unholy were afraid and fearfulness surprised the hypocrites.
That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood “Who stoppeth his ears to the proposal of bloodshed” - A MS. reads בדמים bedamim, “in blood.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Sinners in Zion were afraid How they would find an opening to repent.
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֹלֵ֣ךְ | holekh | [one who] walks | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| צְדָק֔וֹת | tzedakot | righteousness<es> | H6666 → | 157 times |
| וְדֹבֵ֖ר | vedover | and [one who] speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| מֵֽישָׁרִ֑ים | meisharim | uprightness<es> | H4339 → | 19 times |
| מֹאֵ֞ס | moes | [one who] rejects | H3988 → | 76 times |
| בְּבֶ֣צַע | bevetza' | <in> unjust gain of | H1215 → | 23 times |
| מַעֲשַׁקּ֗וֹת | maashakot | extortion<s> | H4642 → | |
| נֹעֵ֤ר | noer | [one who] shakes out | H5287 → | 11 times |
| כַּפָּיו֙ | kapav | hands his | H3709 → | 192 times |
| מִתְּמֹ֣ךְ | mitemokh | from taking hold | H8551 → | 21 times |
| בַּשֹּׁ֔חַד | bashochad | on <the> bribe | H7810 → | 23 times |
| אֹטֵ֤ם | ʾotem | [one who] shuts | H331 → | |
| אָזְנוֹ֙ | ʾazeno | ear his | H241 → | 187 times |
| מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַ | mishemoa' | from hearing | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| דָּמִ֔ים | damim | blood<s> | H1818 → | 360 times |
| וְעֹצֵ֥ם | veotzem | and [one who] shuts | H6105 → | 20 times |
| עֵינָ֖יו | ʾeinav | eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| מֵרְא֥וֹת | mereot | from looking | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְּרָֽע׃ | bera' | on evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
הֹלֵ֣ךְ[one who] walks
holekhH1980 →1546 times
צְדָק֔וֹתrighteousness<es>
tzedakotH6666 →157 times
וְדֹבֵ֖רand [one who] speaks
vedoverH1696 →1141 times
מֵֽישָׁרִ֑יםuprightness<es>
meisharimH4339 →19 times
מֹאֵ֞ס[one who] rejects
moesH3988 →76 times
בְּבֶ֣צַע<in> unjust gain of
bevetza'H1215 →23 times
מַעֲשַׁקּ֗וֹתextortion<s>
maashakotH4642 →
נֹעֵ֤ר[one who] shakes out
noerH5287 →11 times
כַּפָּיו֙hands his
kapavH3709 →192 times
מִתְּמֹ֣ךְfrom taking hold
mitemokhH8551 →21 times
בַּשֹּׁ֔חַדon <the> bribe
bashochadH7810 →23 times
אֹטֵ֤ם[one who] shuts
ʾotemH331 →
אָזְנוֹ֙ear his
ʾazenoH241 →187 times
מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַfrom hearing
mishemoa'H8085 →1159 times
דָּמִ֔יםblood<s>
damimH1818 →360 times
וְעֹצֵ֥םand [one who] shuts
veotzemH6105 →20 times
עֵינָ֖יוeyes his
ʾeinavH5869 →887 times
מֵרְא֥וֹתfrom looking
mereotH7200 →1300 times
בְּרָֽע׃on evil
bera'H7451 →662 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
Psalms 119:37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Proverbs 4:25
Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
- Numbers 15:39
These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own…
- Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
- Matthew 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- 1 John 2:16
Through
1 John 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Romans 2:13
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
- 1 John 2:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1764: “The Rocky Fortress and Its Inhabitant” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, 40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily IV; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 9; Isidore of Seville, THREE BOOKS OF THOUGHTS 3:54; 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.