Isaiah 42:24
in Isaiah 42Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? They were unwilling to walk in His ways, and they would not obey His law.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not Jehovah? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his law.
KJV
Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
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This verse in Isaiah 42
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIn this part of the Lord's Prayer, [Christ] shows that the enemy is powerless against us without God's prior permission. During temptation, consequently, all our fear and devotion and attention should be focused on God, since evil has only such force as he himself permits. … Moreover, evil is given power over us according to our [willful] sins. As Isaiah writes, "Who gave Jacob up to the looters and Israel to the ponderers." It was the Lord, against whom we sinned, in whose ways we would not walk and whose law we refused to obey.
This site's exposition
Who among you will pay attention to this?
on Isaiah 42:23-25
The chapter closes with a question to the hearer, “Who among you will pay attention to this?” The cause of the exile is then named plainly, “Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned?”
This site's exposition
Who gave Jacob up for spoil
The verse shifts from they to we have sinned. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hear the prophet counting himself among the guilty, though Clarke notes that the Septuagint and Chaldee read they. Cyprian cited the verse on the Lord's Prayer: the plunderers of Jacob had only the power the LORD permits.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verses 23-24) Who among you hears this, pays attention, and listens to the future? Who has given Jacob over to plunder, and Israel to the plunderers? Is it not the Lord himself, whom we have sinned against? And they have refused to walk in his ways and have not listened to his law. LXX: Who is among you that will hear this, and will consider the future?
Since God had been addressing people who could not hear him, he now speaks of them as helpless and weak.… For the outcome of the matter was no longer an issue but would be accomplished very soon.… He sent on them the fury of his anger, and battle overtook them. Those who were already wearied by war once more took it on themselves so as to hold on to Jerusalem and their rule over it. But war was unleashed on them, and not only in an external sense but also in that which afflicted their souls.
But Scripture declares that these evils are not by nature made by God but rather come from causes dwelling within humans. Sins against the Lord are the source of trials and pressures of various persecutions that with God's permission rise up against those sinning, as …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he determines the truth as to the doer of the punishment: who has given Jacob for a spoil, the Lord kills and makes alive (1 Sam 2:6); as to the fault: has not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned: and they have …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Called thee - To declare my righteousness, or faithfulness. With-hold - Will give thee counsel and strength for the work. Give thee - To be the mediator in whom my covenant of grace is confirmed with mankind.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers?....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
We have sinned “They have sinned” - For חטאנו chatanu, “we have sinned,” first person; the Septuagint and Chaldee read חטאו chateu, “they have sinned,” in the third person.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Who--Their calamity was not the work of chance, but God's immediate act for their sins. Israel . . . we--change from the third to the first person; Isaiah first speaking to them as a prophet, distinct from them; then identifying himself with them, and acknowledging His share in the nation's sins (compare Jos 5:1).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Who gave Jacob for a spoil? - Who gave up the Jewish people to be plundered? The object of this verse is, to bring distinctly before them the fact that it was Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and of their nation, who had brought this calamity upon them. It was not the work of chance, but it was the immediate and direct act of God on account of their sins. Probably, as a people, they were not disposed to believe this; and the prophet, therefore, takes occasion to calf their attention particularly to this fact.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִֽי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| נָתַ֨ן | natan | has he given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִמְשִׁסָּ֧ה | limshoseh | to plunder | H4933 → | |
| יַעֲקֹ֛ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל | veyisrael | and Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְבֹזְזִ֖ים | levozezim | to despoilers | H962 → | 43 times |
| הֲל֣וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | [was it] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ז֚וּ | zu | whom | H2098 → | |
| חָטָ֣אנוּ | chatanu | we have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָב֤וּ | ʾavu | they were willing | H14 → | 54 times |
| בִדְרָכָיו֙ | vidrakhav | in ways his | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הָל֔וֹךְ | halokh | to walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְע֖וּ | shameu | they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּתוֹרָתֽוֹ׃ | betorato | to law his | H8451 → | 219 times |
מִֽי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
נָתַ֨ןhas he given
natanH5414 →2011 times
לִמְשִׁסָּ֧הto plunder
limshosehH4933 →
יַעֲקֹ֛בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֥לand Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְבֹזְזִ֖יםto despoilers
levozezimH962 →43 times
הֲל֣וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
יְהוָ֑ה[was it] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ז֚וּwhom
zuH2098 →
חָטָ֣אנוּwe have sinned
chatanuH2398 →238 times
ל֔וֹto him
lo
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָב֤וּthey were willing
ʾavuH14 →54 times
בִדְרָכָיו֙in ways his
vidrakhavH1870 →707 times
הָל֔וֹךְto walk
halokhH1980 →1546 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְע֖וּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
בְּתוֹרָתֽוֹ׃to law his
betoratoH8451 →219 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
Isaiah 47:6I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 28:9
But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria. “Look,” he said to them, “because of His wrath against Judah, the…
- Zechariah 1:15
but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.’
- Deuteronomy 28:50
a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young.
- Obadiah 1:10
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.
- James 2:13
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- 2 Chronicles 28:9
Through
Judges 2:14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:40–42
So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance.
- 2 Kings 17:20
So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.
- Psalms 106:40–42
Through
Judges 3:8Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.
it leads to
- Judges 2:14
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they…
- Judges 2:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyprian, Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 25; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:23; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Philastrius of Brescia, BOOK OF HERESIES 79:2-5 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.