Isaiah 1:29
in Isaiah 1Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
KJV
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
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This verse in Isaiah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For they shall be ashamed - That is, when they see the punishment that their idolatry has brought upon them, they shall be ashamed of the folly and degradation of their worship. Moreover, the gods in which they trusted shall yield them no protection, and shall leave them to the disgrace and confusion of being forsaken and abandoned. Of the oaks - Groves, in ancient times, were the favorite places of idolatrous worship. In the city of Rome, there were thirty-two groves consecrated to the gods.
This site's exposition
Zion will be redeemed with justice
on Isaiah 1:27-31
Verse 27 makes justice the means of Zion's redemption. The oaks and gardens point to groves of Canaanite worship, and the shame is in trusting trees that wither. The last image makes the guilty their own fuel: "The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark."
This site's exposition
the sacred oaks in which you have delighted
Sacred oaks and gardens were places of idol worship, as Hosea 4:13 also records. The shame comes when the idols fail the people who chose them, as Albert Barnes explains. Some render the tree terebinth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 29.) For they will be confounded by the idols to which they sacrificed, and you will be ashamed of the gardens you have chosen. And when they are saved, they will be ashamed of those who previously sacrificed to idols, and they will blush in the gardens they had chosen. However, it signifies places of luxury, groves and forests.
The Medieval Church1 voice
64. For they shall be confounded. Here he places the manner of destruction: and first, as to the confusion of sin; second, as to the subtraction of good, where it says, when you shall be (Isa 1:30). Concerning the first, against idolatry, he ordains confusion, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The oaks - Which, after the manner of the Heathen, you have consecrated to idolatrous uses. Gardens - In which, as well is in the groves, they committed idolatry.
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
ashamed-- (Ro 6:21). oaks--Others translate the "terebinth" or "turpentine tree." Groves were dedicated to idols. Our Druids took their name from the Greek for "oaks." A sacred tree is often found in Assyrian sculpture; symbol of the starry hosts, Saba. gardens--planted enclosures for idolatry; the counterpart of the garden of Eden.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks “For ye shall be ashamed of the ilexes” - Sacred groves were a very ancient and favorite appendage of idolatry. They were furnished with the temple of the god to whom they were dedicated, with altars, images, and every thing necessary for performing the various rites of worship offered there; and were the scenes of many impure ceremonies, and of much abominable superstition. They made a principal part of the religion of the old inhabitants of Canaan; and the Israelites were commanded to destroy their groves, among other monuments of their false worship. The Israelites themselves became afterwards very much addicted to this species of idolatry. “When I had brought them into the land, Which I swore that I would give unto them; Then they saw every high hill and every thick tree; And there they slew their victims; And there they presented the provocation of their offerings; And there they placed their sweet savor; And there they poured out their libations.” Eze 20:28. “On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice; And on the hills they burn incense; Under the oak and the poplar; And the ilex, because her shade is pleasant.” Hos 4:13. Of what particular kinds the trees here mentioned are, cannot be determined with certainty. In regard to אלה ellah, in this place of Isaiah, as well as in Hosea, Celsius (Hierobot.) understands it of the terebinth, because the most ancient interpreters render it so; in the first place the Septuagint. He quotes eight places; but in three of these eight places the copies vary, some having δρυς, the oak, instead of τερεβινθος, the terebinth or turpentine tree. And he should have told us, that these same seventy render it in sixteen other places by δρυς, the oak; so that their authority is really against him; and the Septuagint, “stant pro quercu,” contrary to what he says at first setting out. […]
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יֵבֹ֔שׁוּ | yevoshu | they will be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| מֵאֵילִ֖ים | meeilim | from [the] oaks | H352 → | 187 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חֲמַדְתֶּ֑ם | chamadtem | you have desired | H2530 → | 25 times |
| וְתַ֨חְפְּר֔וּ | vetachperu | and you may be abashed | H2659 → | 17 times |
| מֵהַגַּנּ֖וֹת | mehagganot | from the gardens | H1593 → | 12 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּחַרְתֶּֽם׃ | bechartem | you have chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יֵבֹ֔שׁוּthey will be ashamed
yevoshuH954 →127 times
מֵאֵילִ֖יםfrom [the] oaks
meeilimH352 →187 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חֲמַדְתֶּ֑םyou have desired
chamadtemH2530 →25 times
וְתַ֨חְפְּר֔וּand you may be abashed
vetachperuH2659 →17 times
מֵהַגַּנּ֖וֹתfrom the gardens
mehagganotH1593 →12 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּחַרְתֶּֽם׃you have chosen
bechartemH977 →171 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 66:17“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 1:28–29
But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
- Leviticus 11:2–8
“Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat:
- Isaiah 65:3–4
Through
Ezekiel 16:63so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
it leads to
- Romans 3:19
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Psalms 39:9
I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
- Daniel 9:7–8
To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You…
- Romans 3:19
Through
Hosea 4:13They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 3:6
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to…
- Jeremiah 3:6
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); George Adam Smith, The Book of Isaiah, Expositor's Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.