Isaiah 9:16
in Isaiah 9For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
KJV
For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 9
Commentary
8 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."
This site's exposition
those who guide this people mislead them
Gill noted that the Septuagint and the Targum read those who guide as those who bless or praise this people. The prophet who teaches lies in verse 15 flatters, and the people he misleads are swallowed up. Jeremiah 23:17 records the same flattery.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, he sets out the punishment: and they that call this people blessed, shall cause them to err, and those who are led astray, that are called blessed, shall be thrown down, above: O my people, they that call you blessed, the same deceive you …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For the leaders of this people cause them to err,.... Or, "who bless this people", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions; and so the Targum, "who praise this people;'' that call them blessed, pronounce them happy, see Mal 3:15 and promise them happiness, both in this world and that to come, though guilty of notorious sins, and live a vicious course of life; and so harden them in their iniquities, and cause them to wander more and more from the way of truth and righteousness; and lead them unto, and leave them in, fatal mistakes about their state and condition.
): The leaders of this people mislead them, and cause them to err, by conniving at their wickedness and countenancing wicked people, and by setting them bad examples; and then no wonder if those that are led of them be deceived and so destroyed.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the leaders of this people ... - Note, Isa 3:12. Hebrew ‘They that call this people blessed’ - referring more particularly to the false prophets. They that are led of them - Hebrew, ‘They that are called blessed by them.’ Are destroyed - Hebrew, ‘Are swallowed up;’ see the note at Isa 3:12. They are ruined; or swallowed up as in a vast whirlpool or vortex.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽהְי֛וּ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מְאַשְּׁרֵ֥י | measherei | [the] guides | H833 → | 16 times |
| הָֽעָם־ | haom- | <of> the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| מַתְעִ֑ים | matim | misleading | H8582 → | 50 times |
| וּמְאֻשָּׁרָ֖יו | umeusharav | and [those who] were guided by him | H833 → | 16 times |
| מְבֻלָּעִֽים׃ | mevulaim | [were] confused | H1104 → | 49 times |
וַיִּֽהְי֛וּand they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
מְאַשְּׁרֵ֥י[the] guides
meashereiH833 →16 times
הָֽעָם־<of> the people
haom-H5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
מַתְעִ֑יםmisleading
matimH8582 →50 times
וּמְאֻשָּׁרָ֖יוand [those who] were guided by him
umeusharavH833 →16 times
מְבֻלָּעִֽים׃[were] confused
mevulaimH1104 →49 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 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
it leads to
- Luke 6:39
Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
- Isaiah 56:10
Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Matthew 23:16–24
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
- Malachi 2:8
But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Luke 6:39
Through
Isaiah 3:12Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:4
“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
- Nahum 3:13
Look at your troops—they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.
- Isaiah 3:4
Through
Hebrews 7:7And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 30:27
Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.
- Genesis 48:15–20
Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
- 2 Chronicles 30:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.