Isaiah 29:15
in Isaiah 29Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Woe unto them that hide deep their counsel from Jehovah, and whose works are in the dark, and that say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
KJV
Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
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This verse in Isaiah 29
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The reference is to the secret plan which many of the Jewish nobles had of seeking Egyptian aid against Assyria, contrary to the advice of Isaiah. At the same time the hypocrite in general is described, who, under a plausible exterior, tries to hide his real character, not only from men, but even from God.
This site's exposition
those who dig deep to hide their plans
on Isaiah 29:15-16
A woe falls on "those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD", who work in darkness. Isaiah answers with the potter and the clay, "You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay". Gill and Delitzsch trace the figure to Romans 9:20.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
He forgets the words of the Educator: "Every man that passes beyond his own bed, who says in his soul: Who sees me? Darkness compasses me about, and the walls cover me, and no man sees my sins: whom do I fear? The Most High will not remember." Such a person is most wretched, for he fears only the human observation and thinks to hide from God. "He does not know," Scripture continues, "that the eyes of the Most High Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding all the ways of men and looking into the most hidden parts." Another time, the Educator gives warning through Isaiah: "Woe to you who made your counsel in secret and say: Who sees us?" A light that can be seen by the senses may pass unnoticed, but that which illumines the mind cannot be ignored.
(Vers. 15, 16.) Woe to those who are deep in heart, who hide their counsel from the Lord. Their works are in darkness, and they say: Who sees us, and who knows us? Your thoughts are perverse, as if clay should think against the potter, and the work should say to its maker: You did not make me; and the thing formed should say to its former: You do not understand. LXX: Woe to those who make deep counsel, and their works are in darkness, and they say: Who sees us? Who will know us and what we do?
The Medieval Church1 voice
661. Woe to you that are deep of heart. Here he sets out their sin on the part of the intellect, for they did not believe in the providence of God, that he knew what happens among us. And concerning this, he does two things. …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, A practical disbelief of God's omniscience is at the bottom both of the carnal worships and of the carnal confidences of hypocrites; The absurdity of their politics demonstrated (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Woe unto them,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Precious promises of grace and mercy to a distinguished remnant whom God would sanctify, and in whom he would be sanctified, when their enemies and persecutors should be cut off,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Woe unto them that seek deep ... - That is, who attempt to conceal their “real” intentions under a plausible exterior, and correct outward deportment. This is most strikingly descriptive of the character of a hypocrite who seeks to conceal his plans and his purposes from the eyes of people and of God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Therefore, I will continue I am He Who will continue to perform additional obscurity upon obscurity, concealment upon concealment, sealing upon sealing. And what is this obscurity upon obscurity? And the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֛וֹי | ho | woe to! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥ים | hamaamikim | those [who] make deep | H6009 → | 9 times |
| מֵֽיהוָ֖ה | meyahweh | from Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַסְתִּ֣ר | lastir | to hide | H5641 → | 80 times |
| עֵצָ֑ה | ʾetzah | a plan | H6098 → | 89 times |
| וְהָיָ֤ה | vehayah | and it is | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙ | vemachshokh | in a dark place | H4285 → | |
| מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם | maaseihem | deeds their | H4639 → | 236 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֥י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| רֹאֵ֖נוּ | roenu | [is] seeing us | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וּמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יוֹדְעֵֽנוּ׃ | yodenu | [is] perceiving us | H3045 → | 945 times |
ה֛וֹיwoe to!
hoH1945 →51 times
הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥יםthose [who] make deep
hamaamikimH6009 →9 times
מֵֽיהוָ֖הfrom Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַסְתִּ֣רto hide
lastirH5641 →80 times
עֵצָ֑הa plan
ʾetzahH6098 →89 times
וְהָיָ֤הand it is
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙in a dark place
vemachshokhH4285 →
מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֔םdeeds their
maaseihemH4639 →236 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they have said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
מִ֥יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
רֹאֵ֖נוּ[is] seeing us
roenuH7200 →1300 times
וּמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
יוֹדְעֵֽנוּ׃[is] perceiving us
yodenuH3045 →945 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 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:2
All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,
- Isaiah 1:2
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Hosea 7:13
Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.
- Hosea 4:10–12
They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD.
- Isaiah 65:2
Through
Isaiah 47:10You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:21
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
- Romans 1:22
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,
- Psalms 52:7
“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Isaiah 5:21
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.