Isaiah 59:8
in Isaiah 59The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace.
KJV
The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
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This verse in Isaiah 59
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(V. 7, 8.) Their deeds are useless deeds: and the work of iniquity is in their hands. Their feet run towards evil: and they hasten to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are worthless thoughts: destruction and ruin are in their ways. They have not known the way of peace: and there is no justice in their steps. Their paths are crooked for them: whoever walks on them does not know peace. LXX: For their deeds are the deeds of iniquity: and their feet run towards malice.
This site's exposition
Their feet run to evil
on Isaiah 59:7-8
“Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood”, and “The way of peace they have not known”. Paul gathers these lines at Romans 3:15-17 into his list of universal sin. The paths they made are “crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace”.
This site's exposition
They have turned them into crooked paths
Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown take the way of peace in every direction at once, peace with God, with conscience and with neighbours. Aquinas notes the justice in the outcome. Those who denied others peace find none on their own paths.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the fairness of their misery, namely that they suffer the kinds of things that they do to others: the way of peace, by which they might have set others in peace; there is no right judgment, and therefore, their paths, that is, the things …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
There is no judgment in their goings; they have not any sense of justice in their dealings; it is a thing they make no account of at all, but can easily break through all its fences if they stand in the way of their malicious covetous designs.
It is here charged upon them that they had themselves procured the judgments of God upon them, and they are told both what the judgments were which they had brought upon their own heads (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The way of peace they know not,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace “Whoever goeth in them knoweth not peace” - For בה bah, singular, read בם bam, plural, with the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and Chaldee. The ה he is upon a rasure in one MS. Or, for נתיבתיהם nethibotheyhem, plural, we must read נתיבתם nethibatham, singular, as it is in an ancient MS., to preserve the grammatical concord. - L.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
peace--whether in relation to God, to their own conscience, or to their fellow men (Isa 57:20, 21). judgment--justice. crooked--the opposite of "straightforward" (Pr 2:15;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The way of peace they know not - The phrase ‘way of peace’ may denote either peace of conscience, peace with God, peace among themselves, or peace with their fellow-men. Possibly it may refer to all these; and the sense will be, that in their whole lives they were strangers to true contentment and happiness. From no quarter had they peace, but whether in relation to God, to their own consciences, to each other, or to their fellow-men, they were involved in continual strife and agitation (see the notes at Isa 57:20-21). And there is no judgment in their goings - Margin, ‘Right.’ The sense is, that there was no justice in their dealings. there was no disposition to do right. They were full of selfishness, falsehood, oppression, and cruelty. They have made them crooked paths - A crooked path is an emblem of dishonesty, fraud, deceit. A straight path is an emblem of sincerity, truth, honesty, and uprightness (see Psa 125:5; Pro 2:15; and the notes at Isa 40:4). The idea is, that their counsels and plans were perverse and evil. We have a similar expression now when we say of a man that he is ‘straightforward,’ meaning that he is an honest man.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דֶּ֤רֶךְ | derekh | a way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| שָׁלוֹם֙ | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדָ֔עוּ | yadau | they know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֖ט | mishpat | [is] justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתָ֑ם | bema'gelotam | on tracks their | H4570 → | |
| נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ | netivoteihem | paths their | H5410 → | 26 times |
| עִקְּשׁ֣וּ | ʾikeshu | they have made crooked | H6140 → | |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | <for> themselves | ||
| כֹּ֚ל | kol | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דֹּרֵ֣ךְ | dorekh | [one who] treads | H1869 → | 62 times |
| בָּ֔הּ | bah | on it | ||
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדַ֖ע | yada' | he knows | H3045 → | 945 times |
| שָׁלֽוֹם׃ | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
דֶּ֤רֶךְa way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
שָׁלוֹם֙peace
shalomH7965 →236 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדָ֔עוּthey know
yadauH3045 →945 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מִשְׁפָּ֖ט[is] justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתָ֑םon tracks their
bema'gelotamH4570 →
נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙paths their
netivoteihemH5410 →26 times
עִקְּשׁ֣וּthey have made crooked
ʾikeshuH6140 →
לָהֶ֔ם<for> themselves
lahem
כֹּ֚לany
kolH3605 →5413 times
דֹּרֵ֣ךְ[one who] treads
dorekhH1869 →62 times
בָּ֔הּon it
bah
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדַ֖עhe knows
yada'H3045 →945 times
שָׁלֽוֹם׃peace
shalomH7965 →236 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
Luke 1:79to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
- Matthew 4:16
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Isaiah 42:7
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Isaiah 9:2
Through
Isaiah 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
it leads to
- Psalms 80:8–11
You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
- Matthew 3:8–10
Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.
- Psalms 80:8–11
Through
Romans 3:17and the way of peace they have not known.”
it leads to
- Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- Romans 5:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.