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Isaiah 9:17

in Isaiah 9

Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

KJV

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

This verse in Isaiah 9

Commentary

12 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

(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

compassion on their fatherless and widows

Deuteronomy 10:18 names God the defender of orphans and widows. The young, the orphans and the widows are those who usually move mercy, as Aquinas lists them. The severity is that even those the Lord protects are counted with the rest, for "every one of them is godless and wicked."

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

316. Therefore. Here he threatens against persons who are useful for provoking mercy, either because of integrity of the flesh: their young, namely, virgins; or because of age: their orphans; or because of weakness, widows. And first, the punishment is set out: neither shall he …

The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Fatherless - Who are the special objects of his care and pity, and much less upon others. Everyone - Not precisely; for there were seven thousand elect persons among them, when they seemed to Elijah to be universally corrupt, but the body of the people. Hypocrite - For though they professed to worship God, yet indeed they had forsaken him.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): Every one is a hypocrite and an evil doer. If there be any that are good, they do not, they dare not appear, for every mouth speaks folly and villany; every one is profane towards God (so the word properly signifies) and an evil doer towards man.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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.
4 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

None shall be spared for pity: He shall not have mercy on their fatherless and widows, though he is, in a particular manner, the patron and protector of such. They had corrupted their way like all the rest; and, if the poverty and helplessness of their state was not an argument with them to keep them from sin, they could not expect it should be an argument with God to protect them from judgments.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Shall have no joy - He shall not delight in them so as to preserve them. The parallel part of the verse shows that the phrase is used in the sense of having mercy. In their young men - The hope and strength of the nation. The word used here commonly denotes those who are chosen, particularly for purposes of war. The sense is, that the hope and strength of the nation, that on which the chief reliance would be placed, would be cut off.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

no joy--the parallelism, "neither . . . mercy," shows that this means, He shall have no such delight in their youthful warriors, however much they be the nation's delight and reliance, as to save them from the enemy's sword (Isa 31:8; compare Jer 18:21). fatherless, &c.--not even the usual objects of His pity (Ps 10:14, 18;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The Lord “Jehovah” - For אדני Adonai, a great number of MSS. read יהוה Yehovah.

The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • עַל־there-

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כֵּ֨ן-fore

    kenH3651 →771 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • בַּחוּרָ֜יוyoung men its

    bachuravH970 →44 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יִשְׂמַ֣ח׀he rejoices

    yismachH8055 →155 times

  • אֲדֹנָ֗י[the] Lord

    ʾadonaiH136 →440 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • יְתֹמָ֤יוfatherless ones its

    yetomavH3490 →42 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • אַלְמְנֹתָיו֙widows its

    ʾalmenotavH490 →56 times

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יְרַחֵ֔םhe has compassion on

    yerachemH7355 →47 times

  • כִּ֤יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • כֻלּוֹ֙all of it

    khuloH3605 →5413 times

  • חָנֵ֣ף[is] godless

    chanefH2611 →13 times

  • וּמֵרַ֔עand doing evil

    umera'H7489 →107 times

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • פֶּ֖הmouth

    pehH6310 →498 times

  • דֹּבֵ֣ר[is] speaking

    doverH1696 →1141 times

  • נְבָלָ֑הdisgraceful folly

    nevalahH5039 →

  • בְּכָל־for all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • זֹאת֙this

    zotH2063 →603 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • שָׁ֣בit has turned back

    shavH7725 →1056 times

  • אַפּ֔וֹanger his

    ʾapoH639 →276 times

  • וְע֖וֹדand still

    veodH5750 →490 times

  • יָד֥וֹhand his

    yadoH3027 →1618 times

  • נְטוּיָֽה׃[is] stretched out

    netuyahH5186 →214 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 12:34

    You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

    it leads to

    • Luke 6:45

      The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow…

    • Matthew 15:18

      But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

    • Ephesians 4:29

      Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

    • 1 Samuel 24:13

      As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.

    • James 3:5–8

      In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.

  • Through

    Isaiah 5:25

    Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 9:21

      Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 10:4

      Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

    • 2 Kings 9:37

      And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.