Isaiah 32 · Verse 5

Isaiah 32:5

The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
Isaiah 32:5, King James Version

Isaiah 32:5 in other translations

BSBNo longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.
WEBThe fool will no longer be called noble, nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
ASVThe fool shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
YLTA fool is no more called ‘noble,' And to a miser it is not said, ‘rich;'
DARBYThe vile man shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful:
BBEThe foolish man will no longer be named noble, and they will not say of the false man that he is a man of honour.
WebsterThe vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

What does Isaiah 32:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. vile--rather, "fool" [Lowth]; that is, ungodly (Psa 14:1; 74:18). liberal--rather, "noble-minded." churl--rather, "fraudulent" [Gesenius]. bountiful--religiously. The atheistic churl, who envies the believer his hope "full of immortality," shall no longer be held as a patriot struggling for the emancipation of mankind from superstition [Horsley].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 The vile person shall no more be called liberal - The different epithets here employed require minute explanation. The vile person - נבל nabal, the pampered, fattened, brainless fellow, who eats to live, and lives to eat; who will scarcely part with any thing, and that which he does give he gives with an evil eye and a grudging heart. Liberal - נדיב nadib; the generous, openhearted, princely man, who writes on all his possessions, For myself and mankind, and lives only to get and to do good. The churl - כילי kilai, the avaricious man; he who starves himself amidst his plenty, and will not take the necessaries of life for fear of lessening his stock. Thus he differs from נבל nabal, who feeds himself to the full, and regards no one else; like the rich man in the Gospel. The avaricious man is called כילי kilai, from כי ki, for, לי li, myself; or contracted from כל col, all, and לי li, to myself: all is mine; all I have is my own; and all I can get is for myself: and yet this man enjoys nothing; he withholds From back and belly too their proper fare: - O cursed lust of gold, when for thy sake The wretch throws up his interest in both worlds, First starved in this, then damned in that to come! Bountiful - שוע shoa, he who is abundantly rich; who rejoices in his plenty, and deals out to the distressed with a liberal hand.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 32:1-8

Times of peace and happiness. (Is. 32:1-8) An interval of trouble, yet comfort and blessings in the end. (Is. 32:9-20) Verses 1-8 Christ our righteous King, and his true disciples, are evidently here intended. The consolations and graces of his Spirit are as rivers of water in this dry land; and as the overhanging rock affords refreshing shade and shelter to the weary traveller in the desert, so his power, truth…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 32:1-8 →

Isaiah 32:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
יִקָּרֵ֥אyi.ka.Re'it will be calledH7121
ע֛וֹדodagainH5750
לְנָבָ֖לle.na.Valto a foolH5036
נָדִ֑יבna.DivnobleH5081
וּלְכִילַ֕יu.le.khi.Laiand of a scoundrelH3596
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יֵֽאָמֵ֖רye.'a.Merit will be saidH559
שֽׁוֹעַ\׃Sho.a'eminent personH7771

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 32:5

  • Isaiah 5:20

    Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

  • Psalms 15:4

    In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

  • Malachi 3:18

    Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

  • Proverbs 23:6-8

    Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

  • 1 Samuel 25:3-8

    Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. …

  • 1 Samuel 25:25

    Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
vile.
5:20; Ps 15:4; Mal 3:18
nor.
1Sa 25:3-8; Pr 23:6-8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 32:4

    The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

  • Isaiah 32:5

    The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

  • Isaiah 32:6

    For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

Read all of Isaiah 32

Isaiah 32:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El mezquino nunca más será llamado liberal, ni será dicho generoso el avariento.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		L’homme vil ne sera plus appelé noble, et on ne dira pas l’avare généreux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Der gemeine Mensch wird nicht mehr edel genannt und der Arglistige nicht mehr vornehm geheißen werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non vocabitur ultra is qui insipiens est, princeps, neque fraudulentus appellabitur major;