Isaiah 65:4
in Isaiah 65sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
KJV
Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
4 notes on this verseon Isaiah 65:4-5
(Verses 4, 5.) Those who dwell in tombs and sleep in the temples of idols, who eat pork meat and unclean broth from their vessels, who say, 'Go away from me, do not come near me, for you are unclean.' LXX: They sleep in tombs and caves because of the nightmares, those who eat pork meat and the broth of sacrifices, all their vessels are profane. They say, 'Go far away from me, do not come near me, for I am clean.'
This site's exposition
provoketh me to anger continually
on Isaiah 65:3-5
The specific sins named are the fertility cult conducted in gardens and upon altars of brick, outside the Lord's own altar law, paired with the necromantic practice of lodging among graves and monuments to consult the dead, which Gill and Clarke both trace to pagan rites current in Isaiah's Judah. Swine's flesh and broth of abominable things break the food law in the same breath as the grove worship breaks the first commandment, one apostasy working through cult and table together. Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou turns even the language of holiness into a boast, and the older commentators read it as spiritual pride, called smoke in my nose rather than genuine separation unto the Lord.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Which remain among the graves - “For the purpose of evoking the dead. They lodged in desert places that demons might appear to them; for demons do appear in such places, to those who do believe in them.” - Kimchi. In the monuments “In the caverns” - בנצורים bannetsurim, a word of doubtful signification. An ancient MS. has בצורים batstsurim, another בצרים batstsurim, “in the rocks;” and Le Clec thinks the Septuagint had it so in their copy.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Jews, in our Lord's days, and ever since the return from Babylon, have been free from idolatry; still the imagery from idolatrous abominations, as being the sin most loathsome in God's eyes and that most prevalent in Isaiah's time, is employed to describe the foul sin of Israel in all ages, culminating in their killing Messiah, and still rejecting Him.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ | haiyoshevim | who sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בַּקְּבָרִ֔ים | bakevarim | among the graves | H6913 → | 67 times |
| וּבַנְּצוּרִ֖ים | uvanetzurim | and in <the> secret places | H5341 → | 63 times |
| יָלִ֑ינוּ | yalinu | they spend [the] night | H3885 → | 84 times |
| הָאֹֽכְלִים֙ | haokhelim | who eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| בְּשַׂ֣ר | besar | [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| הַחֲזִ֔יר | hachazir | the pig | H2386 → | 7 times |
| וּמְרַ֥ק | uferak | and broth of | H4839 → | |
| פִּגֻּלִ֖ים | pigulim | unclean meat<s> | H6292 → | |
| כְּלֵיהֶֽם׃ | keleihem | [is] vessels their | H3627 → | 325 times |
הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙who sit
haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times
בַּקְּבָרִ֔יםamong the graves
bakevarimH6913 →67 times
וּבַנְּצוּרִ֖יםand in <the> secret places
uvanetzurimH5341 →63 times
יָלִ֑ינוּthey spend [the] night
yalinuH3885 →84 times
הָאֹֽכְלִים֙who eat
haokhelimH398 →810 times
בְּשַׂ֣ר[the] flesh of
besarH1320 →270 times
הַחֲזִ֔ירthe pig
hachazirH2386 →7 times
וּמְרַ֥קand broth of
uferakH4839 →
פִּגֻּלִ֖יםunclean meat<s>
pigulimH6292 →
כְּלֵיהֶֽם׃[is] vessels their
keleihemH3627 →325 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 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:17
“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Amos 5:21–22
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Isaiah 1:11–15
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood…
- Isaiah 66:17
Through
Isaiah 66:17“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:3–4
to a people who continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick,
- Deuteronomy 14:3–8
You must not eat any detestable thing.
- Isaiah 65:3–4
Through
Leviticus 11:7And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:3
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 66:3
Through
Deuteronomy 14:8Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you, as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud.…
it leads to
- Leviticus 11:26–27
Every animal with hooves not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean.
- Leviticus 11:26–27
Where this verse is studied
1 study on this verse
Also on Isaiah 65: 3 studies that walk through this chapter ▾
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.