Isaiah 65:4
in Isaiah 65sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
KJV
Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
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This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verses 4, 5.) Those who dwell in tombs and sleep in the temples of idols, who eat pork meat and unclean broth from their vessels, who say, 'Go away from me, do not come near me, for you are unclean.' LXX: They sleep in tombs and caves because of the nightmares, those who eat pork meat and the broth of sacrifices, all their vessels are profane. They say, 'Go far away from me, do not come near me, for I am clean.'
This site's exposition
to a people who continually provoke Me to My face
on Isaiah 65:3-5
The sins are named: “sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick”, and “sitting among the graves” to consult the dead. Gill and Clarke trace these rites to pagan practice in Judah. Even holiness becomes a boast, and such people are “smoke in My nostrils”.
This site's exposition
sitting among the graves
Clarke calls the Hebrew word behind secret places doubtful, and one ancient manuscript reads rocks. Wesley reads the secret places as idol temples or caves. The Septuagint has them spending nights in graves for dreams, Jerome notes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But what is read in the Septuagint, which is not found in Hebrew, is to be understood in the sense that, according to the letter and the spirit, demons do not exist, because they have already fallen from God, who truly is. Nor do heretical sects, which hold no truth, but pass away and perish like shadows. Hence Esther also speaks to the Lord: Do not give your inheritance to those who do not exist. And the saint prays in the psalm: Forgive me, so that I may be refreshed before I depart and no longer exist (Ps. XXXVIII, 14). For whoever, while living in this body, has not obtained the forgiveness of sins, and thus departs from life, perishes to God and ceases to exist, although they may continue to exist in punishment. … We must understand fury, forgetfulness, anger, repentance in God in the same way as we understand feet, hands, eyes, ears, and other bodily members which are said to belong to an incorporeal and invisible God. Not in the sense that these perturbations are open to Him, Who, by His gift of grace, extinguishes them in us, but in the sense that we understand by our words the affection of God toward us. For anger is not defined in God as it is in men, who find its material in our vices rather than in the will of the Lord, Who will heap His anger on us on the day of wrath and of the revelation of His just judgment, to burn up our thistles, thorns, and tares, which we have brought forth instead of the seed of God, and also the wood, hay, and stubble which we have built on the foundation of Paul (I Cor. 3). We read of this perpetual fire in the song of Moses: A fire is kindled in my anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell. It shall consume the earth and its produce, and shall burn the foundations of the mountains, and my arrows shall pierce them (Deut. XXXII, 22). […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, as to their enthusiasm for divinations: that dwell in sepulchers, that they might have answers from the dead; in the temples (delubris), temples of idols so called from diluendo ("washing"), for they thought all things were washed away there; or because of the fonts, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Monuments - Some interpret it of idol temples, some of caves and dens, in which the Heathens used to worship their idols. Broth of abominable things - Of such flesh as was to the Jews unclean by the law.
Which remain among the graves,.... In order to practise necromancy, to consult the dead, where they imagined demons and departed spirits haunted, and of whom they fancied they might get knowledge of future things: and lodge in the monuments: whole nights for the same purposes.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Which remain among the graves - “For the purpose of evoking the dead. They lodged in desert places that demons might appear to them; for demons do appear in such places, to those who do believe in them.” - Kimchi. In the monuments “In the caverns” - בנצורים bannetsurim, a word of doubtful signification. An ancient MS. has בצורים batstsurim, another בצרים batstsurim, “in the rocks;” and Le Clec thinks the Septuagint had it so in their copy.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Jews, in our Lord's days, and ever since the return from Babylon, have been free from idolatry; still the imagery from idolatrous abominations, as being the sin most loathsome in God's eyes and that most prevalent in Isaiah's time, is employed to describe the foul sin of Israel in all ages, culminating in their killing Messiah, and still rejecting Him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Which remain among the graves - That is, evidently for purposes of necromancy and divination. They do it to appear to hold converse with the dead, and to receive communications from them. The idea in necromancy was, that departed spirits must be acquainted with future events, or at least with the secret things of the invisible world where they dwelt, and that certain persons, by various arts, could become intimate with them, or ‘familiar’ with them, and, by obtaining their secrets, be able to communicate important truths to the living. It seems to have been supposed that this acquaintance might be increased by lodging in the tombs and among the monuments, that they might thus be near to the dead, and have more intimate communion with them (compare the notes at Isa 8:19-20). It is to be recollected, that tombs among the ancients, and especially in Oriental countries, were commonly excavations from the sides of hills, or frequently were large caves. Such places would furnish spacious lodgings for those who chose to reside there, and were, in fact, often resorted to by those who had no houses, and by robbers (see Mat 8:28; Mar 5:3). And lodge in the monuments - Evidently for some purpose of superstition and idolatry. There is, however, some considerable variety in the exposition of the word rendered here ‘monuments,’ as well as in regard to the whole passage. The word rendered ‘lodge’ (ילינוּ yâliynû), means properly to pass the night, and refers not to a permanent dwelling in any place, but to remaining over night; and the probability is, that they went to the places referred to, to sleep - in order that they might receive communications in their dreams from idols, by being near them, or in order that they might have communication with departed spirits. […]
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ | haiyoshevim | who sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בַּקְּבָרִ֔ים | bakevarim | among the graves | H6913 → | 67 times |
| וּבַנְּצוּרִ֖ים | uvanetzurim | and in <the> secret places | H5341 → | 63 times |
| יָלִ֑ינוּ | yalinu | they spend [the] night | H3885 → | 84 times |
| הָאֹֽכְלִים֙ | haokhelim | who eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| בְּשַׂ֣ר | besar | [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| הַחֲזִ֔יר | hachazir | the pig | H2386 → | 7 times |
| וּמְרַ֥ק | uferak | and broth of | H4839 → | |
| פִּגֻּלִ֖ים | pigulim | unclean meat<s> | H6292 → | |
| כְּלֵיהֶֽם׃ | keleihem | [is] vessels their | H3627 → | 325 times |
הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙who sit
haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times
בַּקְּבָרִ֔יםamong the graves
bakevarimH6913 →67 times
וּבַנְּצוּרִ֖יםand in <the> secret places
uvanetzurimH5341 →63 times
יָלִ֑ינוּthey spend [the] night
yalinuH3885 →84 times
הָאֹֽכְלִים֙who eat
haokhelimH398 →810 times
בְּשַׂ֣ר[the] flesh of
besarH1320 →270 times
הַחֲזִ֔ירthe pig
hachazirH2386 →7 times
וּמְרַ֥קand broth of
uferakH4839 →
פִּגֻּלִ֖יםunclean meat<s>
pigulimH6292 →
כְּלֵיהֶֽם׃[is] vessels their
keleihemH3627 →325 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 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s…
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Amos 5:21–22
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Isaiah 1:11–15
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood…
- Isaiah 66:17
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 65:3–4
Through
Leviticus 11:7And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:3
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 66:3
Through
Deuteronomy 14:8Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you, as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud.…
it leads to
- Leviticus 11:26–27
Every animal with hooves not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean.
- Leviticus 11:26–27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
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); 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.