Isaiah 65:6
in Isaiah 65Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will pay it back into their laps,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, yea, I will recompense into their bosom,
KJV
Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,
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This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBehold, it is written before me - Their sin is registered in heaven, calling aloud for the punishment due to it. I will - recompense into their bosom - The bosom is the place where the Asiatics have their pockets, and not in their skirts like the inhabitants of the west. Their loose flowing garments have scarcely any thing analogous to skirts. Into their bosom - For על al, ten MSS. and five editions have אל el. So again at the end of this verse, seventeen MSS. and four editions have אל al. - L.
This site's exposition
Behold, it is written before Me
on Isaiah 65:6-7
“Behold, it is written before Me”, so the judgment answers a settled account, and “I will not keep silent, but I will repay”. The iniquities of the fathers and the sons are repaid together, “into their laps”. The measure is their own history: “full payment for their former deeds”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 6, 7.) These people will be in my fury, a burning fire all day long. Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but I will repay and recompense into their bosom your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, says the Lord, who sacrificed upon the mountains and upon the hills, reproached me, and I will measure their work first into their bosom. LXX: This is the smoke of my fury: a fire burns in it all the days.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the certainty of punishment: behold it is written, for their sin is firmly in memory, and their punishment in preordination; I will not be silent, overlooking their sins: the sin of Judah is written (Jer 17:1), above: I have held my peace, always I …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This is expounded by St. Paul, Rom. xi. 1-5 , where, when, upon occasion of the rejection of the Jews, it is asked, Hath God then cast away his people? he answers, No; for at this time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. This prophecy has reference to that distinguished remnant.
Behold, it is written before me,.... This account of their sins; it was in his sight and constant remembrance, and punishment for them was determined by him, written in the book of his decrees: I will not keep silence; but threaten with destruction, and not only threaten, but execute; plead against them really, as well as verbally, with sore judgments: but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom; full and just recompence of punishment for all their transgressions, as it follows.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The sense thus is: I will repay their sin so abundantly that the hand will not be able to receive it; it will need the spacious fold on the bosom to contain it [ROSENMULLER]. Rather it is, "I will repay it to the very person from whom it has emanated." Compare "God did render the evil of the men of Shechem upon their heads" (Jud 9:57;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, it is written before me - That is, the crimes of which they had been guilty, or the sentence which would be consequent thereon. The allusion is to the custom of having the decrees of kings recorded in a volume or on a table, and kept in their presence, so that they might be seen and not forgotten. An allusion to this custom of opening the books containing a record of this kind on trials, occurs in Dan 7:10, ‘The judgment was set, and the books were opened.’ So also Rev 20:12, ‘And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.’ So here. An impartial record had been made, and God would recompense them according to their deeds. I will not keep silence - Nothing shall compel me to desist from declaring a sentence which shall be just and right. But will recompense, even recompense - That is, I will certainly requite them. The word is repeated in accordance with the usual manner in Hebrew to denote emphasis. Into their bosom - (See Psa 79:12; Jer 32:18; Luk 6:38). The word bosom, here refers to a custom among the Orientals of making the bosom or front of their garments large and loose, so that articles could be carried in them, answering the purpose of our pockets (compare Exo 4:6-7; Pro 6:27). The sense here is, that God would abundantly punish them for their sins.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| כְתוּבָ֖ה | khetuvah | [it is] written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| לְפָנָ֑י | lefanai | <to> before me | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶחֱשֶׂה֙ | ʾecheseh | I will be silent | H2814 → | 16 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שִׁלַּ֔מְתִּי | shilamti | I will repay | H7999 → | 116 times |
| וְשִׁלַּמְתִּ֖י | veshilamti | and I will repay | H7999 → | 116 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חֵיקָֽם׃ | cheikam | bosom their | H2436 → | 38 times |
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
כְתוּבָ֖ה[it is] written
khetuvahH3789 →224 times
לְפָנָ֑י<to> before me
lefanaiH6440 →2123 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶחֱשֶׂה֙I will be silent
ʾechesehH2814 →16 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
שִׁלַּ֔מְתִּיI will repay
shilamtiH7999 →116 times
וְשִׁלַּמְתִּ֖יand I will repay
veshilamtiH7999 →116 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חֵיקָֽם׃bosom their
cheikamH2436 →38 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 50:21You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
it leads to
- Romans 2:4–5
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Isaiah 57:11
Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear…
- Psalms 94:7–11
They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”
- Romans 2:4–5
Through
Psalms 79:12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
it leads to
- Genesis 4:15
“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
- Jeremiah 32:18
You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
- Leviticus 26:21
If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
- Genesis 4:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Isaiah
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.