Isaiah 59 · Verse 5

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.

Isaiah 59:5, King James Version

Isaiah 59:5 in other translations

BSB	They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
WEB	They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
ASV	They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
YLT	Eggs of a viper they have hatched, And webs of a spider they weave, Whoso is eating their eggs doth die, And the crushed hatcheth a viper.
DARBY	They hatch serpents' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
BBE	They give birth to snake's eggs, and make spider's threads: whoever takes their eggs for food comes to his death, and the egg which is crushed becomes a poison-snake.
Webster	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.

What does Isaiah 59:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

5. cockatrice--probably the basilisk serpent, cerastes. Instead of crushing evil in the egg, they foster it. spider's web--This refers not to the spider's web being made to entrap, but to its thinness, as contrasted with substantial "garments," as Is 59:6 shows. Their works are vain and transitory (Job 8:14; Pr 11:18). eateth ... their eggs--he who partakes in their plans, or has anything to do with them, finds them pestiferous. that which is crushed--The egg, when it is broken, breaketh out as a viper; their plans, however specious in their undeveloped form like the egg, when developed, are found pernicious. Though the viper is viviparous (from which "vi-per" is derived), yet during gestation, the young are included in eggs, which break at the birth [Bochart]; however, metaphors often combine things without representing everything to the life.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · 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 59:5 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.

בֵּיצֵ֤יbei.Tzeieggs ofH1000

צִפְעוֹנִי֙tzif.'o.Nia viperH6848

בִּקֵּ֔עוּbi.Ke.'uthey have hatchedH1234

וְקוּרֵ֥יve.ku.Reiand webs ofH6980

עַכָּבִ֖ישׁ'a.ka.Visha spiderH5908

יֶאֱרֹ֑גוּye.'e.Ro.guthey weaveH707

הָאֹכֵ֤לha.'o.Khelthe [one who] eatsH398

מִבֵּֽיצֵיהֶם֙mi.bei.tzei.Hemany of eggs theirH1000

יָמ֔וּתya.Muthe will dieH4191

וְהַזּוּרֶ֖הve.ha.zu.Rehand the pressed [egg]H2116

תִּבָּקַ֥עti.ba.Ka'it is hatchedH1234

אֶפְעֶֽה\׃'ef.'Eha snakeH660

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

Cross references for Isaiah 59:5

Matthew 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Isaiah 14:29
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Proverbs 23:32
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Matthew 12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Job 8:14
Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

cockatrice. or, adder's.
14:29; Pr 23:32; *marg:
crushed breaketh out into a viper. or, sprinkled is as ifthere brake out a viper.
Mt 3:7; 12:34

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

Context

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.
Isaiah 59:6
Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Read all of Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59:5 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Ponen huevos de áspides, y tejen telas de arañas: el que comiere de sus huevos, morirá; y si lo apretaren, saldrá un basilisco.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Ils font éclore des œufs de serpent, et ils tissent des toiles d’araignées: celui qui mange de leurs œufs mourra, et si l’on en écrase un, il en éclot une vipère.
German Elberfelder 1871	Basiliskeneier brüten sie aus, und sie weben Spinnengewebe: wer von ihren Eiern ißt, muß sterben, und wird eines zertreten, so fährt eine Otter heraus;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Ova aspidum ruperunt, et telas araneæ texuerunt. Qui comederit de ovis eorum, morietur; et quod confotum est, erumpet in regulum.