Isaiah 43:28
in Isaiah 43So I will disgrace the princes of your sanctuary, and I will devote Jacob to destruction and Israel to reproach.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel a reviling.
KJV
Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
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This verse in Isaiah 43
Commentary
11 notes on this verse"Your princes profaned the sanctuary." Those who were from the house of Manasseh profaned the sanctuary with the four-faced idol, which they placed inside the sanctuary. Because of those crimes, and in particular because of Manasseh's crime, "I have given Jacob to the curse, and …
This site's exposition
He who blots out your transgressions
on Isaiah 43:25-28
I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions answers the accusation with pardon, the doubled I of verse 11 now spent on forgiveness. Remind Me, let us argue the matter together reopens the courtroom. The last verses name failure across generations, Your first father sinned.
This site's exposition
disgrace the princes of your sanctuary
These princes are the priests of the sanctuary, as in 1 Chronicles 24:5. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown give the Hebrew behind destruction as cherem, a ban that devoted Jacob and Israel to ruin and reproach. Clarke follows the Syriac and the Septuagint, which read that Israel's princes disgraced the sanctuary.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 25, 26 and following) I am, I am myself, who blots out your iniquities for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Bring me to remembrance, let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. Your first ancestor sinned, and your interpreters transgressed against me. And I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and delivered Jacob to destruction and Israel to reviling. LXX: I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember. But remember, and let us argue together.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And I have profaned the holy princes, that is, I have allowed them to be profaned; I have given Jacob to slaughter, for they all died in the desert, except for Caleb and Joshua: we have sinned with our fathers (Ps 106:6).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
God's goodness takes occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound ( Rom. v. 20 ), and mercy rejoices against judgment, as having prevailed and carried the day, Jam. ii.
Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary,....
The pardoning of their sin was as great an instance of God's power (for so Moses reckons it, Num. xiv. 17 , &c.) as the breaking of the yoke of their captivity. What the sins are which they are here charged with.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary “Thy princes have profaned my sanctuary” - Instead of ואחלל שרי vaachallel sarey, read ויחללו שריך vayechalelu sareycha. So the Syriac and Septuagint, και εμιαναν οἱ αρχοντες τα ἁγια μου, “the rulers have defiled my holy things.” קדשי kodshi, Houbigant. Οἱ αρχοντες σου, “thy rulers, “MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2 and Marchal. To reproaches “To reproach” - לגדופה ligeduphah, in the singular number; so an ancient MS. and the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate. And, alas! what a curse do they still bear, and what reproach do they still suffer!
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I have esteemed, or treated, them as persons not sacred. I have left them to suffer the same treatment as the common people, stripped of their holy office and in captivity. princes of the sanctuary--"governors of" it (1Ch 24:5); directing its holy services; priests. curse--Hebrew, cherim, a "solemn anathema," or "excommunication." reproaches-- (Ps 123:3, 4).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Therefore I have profaned - The princes of the sanctuary, that is, the priests, were by their office regarded as sacred, or set apart to the service of God. To depose them from that office, to subject them to punishment, and to send them into captivity, was, therefore, regarded as profaning them. They were stripped of their office, and robes, and honors, and reduced to the same condition, and compelled to meet with the same treatment, as the common people. The sense is, that he had made them common (for so the word חלל châlal is used in Exo 31:14; Exo 19:22; Lev 19:8; Lev 21:9; Mal 1:12; Mal 2:2); he did not regard their office; he used them all alike. The princes of the sanctuary - Margin, ‘Holy princes.’ It means, either those who presided over and directed the services of the sanctuary, called in 1Ch 24:5, ‘governors of the sanctuary;’ or those who were holy in office. The Septuagint renders it, Οἱ ἄρχοντες τὰ ἅγια μον Hoi archontes ta hagia mou - ‘Who preside over my holy things,’ or my sanctuary. Vulgate, Principes sanctos - ‘Holy princes.’ The Syriac, ‘Thy princes have profaned the sanctuary.’ The sense is, that God had disregarded the official character of those who were set apart to the sacred office, and had punished them in common with the people at large for their sins. And have given Jacob to the curse - The Septuagint renders it, ‘I have given Jacob to be destroyed’ (ἀπωλέσαι apōlesai). The Hebrew word here (חרם chērem), is that which is commonly used to denote a solemn anathema, excommunication, or devotion to destruction (see the note at Isa 34:5). To reproaches - The reproach, contempt, and scorn which they met with in their captivity, and in a land of strangers (compare Psa 137:3-4). Thus far God states the reasons why he had punished the nation. […]
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲחַלֵּ֖ל | vaachalel | so I may profane | H2490 → | 143 times |
| שָׂ֣רֵי | sarei | [the] officials of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| קֹ֑דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה | veetenah | and I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַחֵ֙רֶם֙ | lacherem | to <the> total destruction | H2764 → | |
| יַעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | veyisrael | and Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְגִדּוּפִֽים׃ ס | legidufim | to reviling words | H1421 → |
וַאֲחַלֵּ֖לso I may profane
vaachalelH2490 →143 times
שָׂ֣רֵי[the] officials of
sareiH8269 →421 times
קֹ֑דֶשׁholiness
kodeshH6944 →469 times
וְאֶתְּנָ֤הand I will give
veetenahH5414 →2011 times
לַחֵ֙רֶם֙to <the> total destruction
lacheremH2764 →
יַעֲקֹ֔בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לand Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְגִדּוּפִֽים׃ סto reviling words
legidufimH1421 →
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
Zechariah 8:13As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your…
it leads to
- Genesis 12:2–3
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- 1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
- Zechariah 8:9
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the…
- Psalms 72:17
May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
- Zephaniah 3:20
At that time I will bring you in; yes, at that time I will gather you. For I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore…
- Genesis 12:2–3
Through
Isaiah 65:15You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
it leads to
- Isaiah 62:2
Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
- Isaiah 62:2
Through
Jeremiah 24:9I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:18
I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among…
- Deuteronomy 28:37
You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Jeremiah 29:18
Where this verse is studied
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About Isaiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:28; 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.
