Isaiah 1:23
in Isaiah 1Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
KJV
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
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This verse in Isaiah 1
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thy princes ... - This is an explanation of the previous verse. Princes mean here those attached to the royal family; those who by rank, or office, had an influence over the people. Rebellious - Against God. The corruption of a nation commonly begins with the rulers. Companions of thieves - That is, they connive at the doings of robbers; they do not bring them to justice; they are their accomplices, and are easily bribed to acquit them. Every one loveth gifts - Every magistrate can be bribed. Followeth afar rewards - רדף rodēph.
This site's exposition
See how the faithful city
on Isaiah 1:21-23
Verse 21 opens in the meter of a funeral lament, sung over a city still standing. A city once "full of justice" is measured against what it has become. The corruption of verse 23 is judicial, bribes loved and rewards chased while the fatherless and the widow get no hearing.
This site's exposition
They all love bribes
Rulers who take bribes turn the court into a market, and the fatherless and the widow of verse 17 are the first to lose. The law forbade the bribe at Exodus 23:8. Matthew Henry said gifts blind a judge's eyes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 23.) Your leaders were disobedient, partners of thieves. Aquila, departing from the disobedient, interpreted for Symmachus, who turned aside. But the leaders called the scribes and the Pharisees, who departed from the Lord, indeed, abandoning the path of truth, they walked in a crooked way, and became accomplices of the traitor and the thieves of Judah. Indeed, we must be careful not to be called thieves ourselves, but rather partners of thieves, by accepting gifts from the people of the world who accumulate riches through the tears of the poor and through robberies.
The Medieval Church1 voice
59. Your princes are faithless. Here he denounces the sin of the princes. And first, he shows that they are unfaithful in executing their office, because they do so for their own advantage and not that of the people: that anoint themselves with the best …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Presents and gratuities will blind their eyes at any time, and make them pervert judgment. These they love and are eager in the pursuit of, Hos. ix. 18 . [2.] The duty of their places is none of their care.
Rebellious - Against me their sovereign Lord. Companions of thieves - Partly by giving them connivance and countenance, and partly by practicing the same violence, and cruelty, and injustice that thieves used to do. Gifts - That is, bribes given to pervert justice.
Thy princes are rebellious,.... Stubborn and obstinate, refused to receive and acknowledge the Messiah; such were the Jewish rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, in the times of Christ. And companions of thieves: who devoured widows' houses; made the temple, which was a house of prayer, a den of thieves; and took away the key of knowledge from the people, and would not suffer them to attend the ministry of the Gospel, Mat 21:13. everyone loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A sad complaint of the judgments of God, which they had brought upon themselves by their sins, and by which they were brought almost to utter ruin,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Companions of thieves “Associates” - The Septuagint, Vulgate, and four MSS., read חברי chabrey without the conjunction ו vau.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׂרַ֣יִךְ | sarayikh | leaders your | H8269 → | 421 times |
| סוֹרְרִ֗ים | sorim | [are] rebels | H5637 → | 17 times |
| וְחַבְרֵי֙ | vechavrei | and companions of | H2270 → | |
| גַּנָּבִ֔ים | ganavim | thieves | H1590 → | |
| כֻּלּוֹ֙ | kulo | all of it | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֹהֵ֣ב | ʾohev | [is] loving | H157 → | 211 times |
| שֹׁ֔חַד | shochad | a bribe | H7810 → | 23 times |
| וְרֹדֵ֖ף | verodef | and [is] pursuing | H7291 → | 143 times |
| שַׁלְמֹנִ֑ים | shalmonim | rewards | H8021 → | |
| יָתוֹם֙ | yatom | [the] fatherless | H3490 → | 42 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁפֹּ֔טוּ | yishpotu | they vindicate | H8199 → | 202 times |
| וְרִ֥יב | veriv | and [the] lawsuit of | H7379 → | 61 times |
| אַלְמָנָ֖ה | ʾalmanah | a widow | H490 → | 56 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָב֥וֹא | yavo' | it comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ פ | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
שָׂרַ֣יִךְleaders your
sarayikhH8269 →421 times
סוֹרְרִ֗ים[are] rebels
sorimH5637 →17 times
וְחַבְרֵי֙and companions of
vechavreiH2270 →
גַּנָּבִ֔יםthieves
ganavimH1590 →
כֻּלּוֹ֙all of it
kuloH3605 →5413 times
אֹהֵ֣ב[is] loving
ʾohevH157 →211 times
שֹׁ֔חַדa bribe
shochadH7810 →23 times
וְרֹדֵ֖ףand [is] pursuing
verodefH7291 →143 times
שַׁלְמֹנִ֑יםrewards
shalmonimH8021 →
יָתוֹם֙[the] fatherless
yatomH3490 →42 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁפֹּ֔טוּthey vindicate
yishpotuH8199 →202 times
וְרִ֥יבand [the] lawsuit of
verivH7379 →61 times
אַלְמָנָ֖הa widow
ʾalmanahH490 →56 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָב֥וֹאit comes
yavo'H935 →2568 times
אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ פto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 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
Exodus 23:8Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Proverbs 17:23
A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
- Isaiah 5:23
who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Proverbs 15:27
He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- 1 Samuel 8:3
But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Through
Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Proverbs 4:16–17
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
- Micah 3:11
Through
Zechariah 7:10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:28
They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the…
- Jeremiah 5:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this verse
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.