Isaiah 9:15
in Isaiah 9The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
KJV
The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
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This verse in Isaiah 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Vers. 14 seqq.) And the Lord will scatter from Israel the head and the tail, the bend and the corrupt in one day. The venerable and honorable, he is the head; and the Prophet teaching falsehood, he is the tail. And there will be those who call this people blessed, deceiving, and those who are called blessed, being cast down. Therefore, the Lord will not rejoice over his young men, and will not have mercy on his orphans and widows, for every hypocrite is wicked, and every mouth has spoken foolishness.
This site's exposition
The head is the elder
on Isaiah 9:15-17
Verse 15 defines the head and tail, leaders at both ends sharing blame. Since the guides mislead and "every mouth speaks folly," the usual claims on mercy fail, with no compassion on orphans and widows. The refrain returns, "His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
He who may have been at the head of the flock of Christ is now made the tail of another flock, as God declared through Isaiah: "The prophet who teaches lies is the tail." Everyone among the people who is of right faith, even though …
Remember what is written in Isaiah: "The elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail, and there will be some who delight my people while deceiving them, and those who are delighted will be cast headlong." Thus …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Second, he explains the metaphor: the aged, that teaches lies: and her prophets have daubed them without tempering the mortar, seeing vain things, and divining lies unto them (Ezek 22:28).
Where the head and the tail are said through the prophet to be destroyed, it is clear that priests are designated by the head and prophets by the tail. The crown, therefore, is removed from the head when those who are seen to preside over the body of the church abandon the rewards of heavenly compensation. Once its leaders fall, normally, the army that follows them also succumbs. Hence, soon after the condemnation of the leaders, Job comments on the manifold afflictions of the church: "He destroyed me on every side, and I perish; and he has removed my hope like uprooting a tree." For the church is destroyed on every side and perishes in the persons of its sick members when those who seem to be its strength are corrupted, that is, when the crown is removed from the head because its leaders have abandoned their pursuit of eternal rewards. It is in reference to the sick who have fallen that Job then adds, fittingly: "and he removed my hope like uprooting a tree." A tree is felled by a gust of wind. And what is more similar to a person who falls into unrighteousness as a result of being terrorized with threats than a tree that loses its straightness because of the wind?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The ancient and honourable, he is the head,.... The elder in office, not in age; and who, on account of his office, dignity, and riches, is honoured by men, is of a venerable countenance himself, and is reverenced when seen and looked upon by others, and received by persons with pleasure and cheerfulness; as the phrase used signifies.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The reason why the judgments of God are prolonged is because the point is not gained, sinners are not brought to repentance by them. The people turn not to him that smites them, and therefore he continues to smite them; for when God judges he will overcome, and the proudest stoutest sinner shall either bend or break.
(2.) Their prophets, their false prophets, were the tail and the rush, the most despicable of all. A wicked minister is the worst of all. A wicked minister is the worst of men.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The ancient - The elder; the old man. And honorable - Hebrew, ‘The man of elevated countenance.’ The man of rank and office. The prophet that teacheth lies - The false prophet. Of those there were many; and probably at this time many in Samaria.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זָקֵ֥ן | zaken | an old [man] | H2205 → | 178 times |
| וּנְשׂוּא־ | unesu'- | and [one] uplifted of | H5375 → | 656 times |
| פָנִ֖ים | fanim | face | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָרֹ֑אשׁ | harosh | [is] the head | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וְנָבִ֥יא | venavi' | and a prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| מֽוֹרֶה־ | moreh- | [who] teaches | H3384 → | 80 times |
| שֶּׁ֖קֶר | sheker | falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַזָּנָֽב׃ | hazanav | [is] the tail | H2180 → | 11 times |
זָקֵ֥ןan old [man]
zakenH2205 →178 times
וּנְשׂוּא־and [one] uplifted of
unesu'-H5375 →656 times
פָנִ֖יםface
fanimH6440 →2123 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הָרֹ֑אשׁ[is] the head
haroshH7218 →599 times
וְנָבִ֥יאand a prophet
venavi'H5030 →314 times
מֽוֹרֶה־[who] teaches
moreh-H3384 →80 times
שֶּׁ֖קֶרfalsehood
shekerH8267 →113 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַזָּנָֽב׃[is] the tail
hazanavH2180 →11 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
Matthew 24:24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11
The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- Mark 13:22
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- Revelation 13:13–14
And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people.
- Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
- 2 Peter 2:1–3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11
Through
Isaiah 29:10For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
it leads to
- Romans 11:8
as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”
- Isaiah 44:18
They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12
The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- Romans 11:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Aponius, EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 2:23; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job 14.43-44; 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; Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 3:9 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.