Isaiah 5:19
in Isaiah 5to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
KJV
That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
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This verse in Isaiah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 18, 19.) Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope. Those who say: let his work speed up and come quickly, so that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel approach and come, so that we may know it. As for the cart rope, the Septuagint translated it as a strap of the yoke of a heifer or a cow. And it is more commonly read that the ropes are called sins.
This site's exposition
Woe to those who draw iniquity
on Isaiah 5:18-19
The third woe pictures sin as a load, wrongdoing so practiced it no longer feels like effort. The mockers say "Let Him hurry and hasten His work." Their taunt names "the Holy One of Israel," the title behind the cry of the seraphim at 6:3.
This site's exposition
Let Him hurry and hasten His work
The scoffers of 5:18 dare the Holy One of Israel to hurry His work, and Barnes takes their words as defiance. Henry sets them beside the mockers of 2 Peter 3:4. The LORD answers in 5:26, where the nations come speedily and swiftly.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
186. That say. Here he shows those vanities in particular, from which they drew sin upon themselves. And this as to three things: first, as to their contempt of the judge; second, as to their excusing of sin, where it says, woe to you that …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Let him - God, in whose name thou and other prophets are always threatening us. This was the plain language of their actions; they lived as if they were of this opinion.
): They say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work; this is the same language with that of the scoffers of the last days, who say, Where is the promise of his coming? and therefore it is that, like them, they draw iniquity with cords of vanity, are violent and daring in sin, and walk after their own lusts, 2 Pet. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, and they shall find, to their terror and confusion, that he will; in one hour has the judgment come. (3.) He can carry them on in the service with amazing forwardness and fury. This is described here in very elegant and lofty expressions,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
That say, let him make speed, and hasten his work,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That say ... - They add one sin to another for “the purpose of defying” God, and provoking him to anger. They pretend that he will not punish sin; and hence, they plunge deeply into it, and defy him to punish them. Let him make speed - Let him come quick to punish. And hasten his work - His punishment. That we may see it - An expression of defiance. We would like to see him undertake it. The counsel of the Holy One ... - His threatened purpose to punish. This is the language of all sinners.
Let the counsel of the Holy One - Tryphiodorus has an expression something like this: - - επει Διος ηλυθε βουλη. Tryph. Il Excid. 239. Because the counsel of Jupiter was come. “This expression, ηλυθε βουλη, is, I believe, something uncommon; but it is exactly paralleled and explained by a passage in Isaiah, Isa 5:19. The Septuagint has expressed it in the very same words with Tryphiodorus: και ελθοι ἡ βουλ η του ἁγιου Ισραηλ, ἱνα γνωμεν.” - Merrick’s note, ad loc.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָאֹמְרִ֗ים | haomerim | those [who] say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְמַהֵ֧ר׀ | yemaher | let it hurry | H4116 → | 68 times |
| יָחִ֛ישָׁה | yachishah | let it make haste ! | H2363 → | 20 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ | maasehu | work his | H4639 → | 236 times |
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| נִרְאֶ֑ה | nireh | we may see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְתִקְרַ֣ב | vetikrav | and it may draw near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| וְתָב֗וֹאָה | vetavoah | and let it come ! | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲצַ֛ת | ʾatzat | [the] plan of | H6098 → | 89 times |
| קְד֥וֹשׁ | kedoosh | [the] holy [one] of | H6918 → | 116 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְנֵדָֽעָה׃ ס | venedaah | so we may know | H3045 → | 945 times |
הָאֹמְרִ֗יםthose [who] say
haomerimH559 →5305 times
יְמַהֵ֧ר׀let it hurry
yemaherH4116 →68 times
יָחִ֛ישָׁהlet it make haste !
yachishahH2363 →20 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֖הוּwork his
maasehuH4639 →236 times
לְמַ֣עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
נִרְאֶ֑הwe may see
nirehH7200 →1300 times
וְתִקְרַ֣בand it may draw near
vetikravH7126 →280 times
וְתָב֗וֹאָהand let it come !
vetavoahH935 →2568 times
עֲצַ֛ת[the] plan of
ʾatzatH6098 →89 times
קְד֥וֹשׁ[the] holy [one] of
kedooshH6918 →116 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְנֵדָֽעָה׃ סso we may know
venedaahH3045 →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 66:5You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: “Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of My name have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified that we may…
it leads to
- John 15:18–20
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- Matthew 5:10–12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Isaiah 66:2
Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles…
- Matthew 10:22
You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- Psalms 38:20
Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
- John 15:18–20
Through
Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:2–3
“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
- Ezekiel 11:3
They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’
- Ezekiel 12:27
“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
- Ezekiel 18:2–3
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.