Isaiah 59 · Verse 4

Isaiah 59:4

None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Isaiah 59:4, King James Version

Isaiah 59:4 in other translations

BSBNo one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
WEBNo one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
ASVNone sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
YLTThere is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.
DARBYnone calleth for justice, none pleadeth in truthfulness. They trust in vanity, and speak falsehood; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
BBENo one puts forward an upright cause, or gives a true decision: their hope is in deceit, and their words are false; they are with child with sin, and give birth to evil.
WebsterNone calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

What does Isaiah 59:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. Rather, "No one calleth an adversary into court with justice," that is, None bringeth a just suit: "No one pleadeth with truth." they trust ... iniquity--(So Job 15:35; Psa 7:14).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity - There is a curious propriety in this mode of expression; a thought or purpose is compared to conception; a word or act, which is the consequence of it, to the birth of a child. From the third to the fifteenth verse inclusive may be considered a true statement of the then moral state of the Jewish people; and that they were, in the most proper sense of the word, guilty of the iniquities with which they are charged.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 59:1-8

Reproofs of sin and wickedness. (Is. 59:1-8) Confession of sin, and lamentation for the consequences. (Is. 59:9-15) Promises of deliverance. (Is. 59:16-21) Verses 1-8 If our prayers are not answered, and the salvation we wait for is not wrought for us, it is not because God is weary of hearing prayer, but because we are weary of praying. See here sin in true colours, exceedingly sinful; and see sin in its…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 59:1-8 →

Isaiah 59:4 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.

אֵין\־'ein-there notH369
קֹרֵ֣אko.Re'[is one who] callsH7121
בְצֶ֔דֶקve.Tze.dekin righteousnessH6664
וְאֵ֥יןve.'Einand there notH369
נִשְׁפָּ֖טnish.Pat[is one who] enters into judgmentH8199
בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑הbe.'e.mu.Nahin truthH530
בָּט֤וֹחַba.To.ach[they are] trustingH982
עַל\־'al-onH5921
תֹּ֙הוּ֙to.huemptinessH8414
וְדַבֶּר\־ve.da.ber-and they speakH1696
שָׁ֔וְאShav'worthlessnessH7723
הָר֥וֹha.Rothey conceiveH2029
עָמָ֖ל'a.MalmischiefH5999
וְהוֹלֵ֥ידve.ho.Leidand they bring forthH3205
אָֽוֶן\׃'A.venwickednessH205

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

Cross references for Isaiah 59:4

  • Job 15:35

    They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

  • Micah 7:2-5

    The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

  • James 1:15

    Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  • Jeremiah 7:4

    Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.

  • Jeremiah 7:8

    Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

  • Proverbs 4:16

    For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

  • Isaiah 30:12

    Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:

  • Micah 2:1

    Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

  • Isaiah 59:16

    And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

  • Psalms 62:10

    Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

  • Isaiah 59:13-14

    In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

  • Ezekiel 22:29-31

    The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
calleth.
16; Jer 5:1,4,5; Eze 22:29-31; Mic 7:2-5
trust.
30:12; Job 15:31; Ps 62:10; Jer 7:4,8
and speak.
3; Ps 62:4
they conceive.
13; Job 15:35; Ps 7:13; Pr 4:16; Mic 2:1; Jas 1:15

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

Context

  • Isaiah 59:3

    For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

  • Isaiah 59:4

    None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

  • Isaiah 59:5

    They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Read all of Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
No hay quien clame por la justicia, ni quien juzgue por la verdad: confían en vanidad, y hablan vanidades; conciben trabajo, y paren iniquidad.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
il n’y a personne qui invoque la justice, et personne qui plaide en jugement avec intégrité; on se confie dans le néant, et on parle avec fausseté; on conçoit l’oppression, et on enfante l’iniquité.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Niemand ruft Gerechtigkeit aus, und niemand rechtet in Treue; man vertraut auf Nichtigkeit und redet Falschheit; man ist schwanger mit Mühsal und gebiert Unheil.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Non est qui invocet justitiam, neque est qui judicet vere: sed confidunt in nihilo, et loquuntur vanitates; conceperunt laborem, et pepererunt iniquitatem.