Isaiah 5:20
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing beer,
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
- KJV
- 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!
- WEB
- Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- ASV
- 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!
- DARBY
- Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- BLB
- Woe [to] those saying to evil “Good,” and to good “Evil,” putting darkness for light and light for darkness, putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
- ÅB
- Ve dem som kaller det onde godt og det gode ondt, som gjør mørke til lys og lys til mørke, som gjør bittert til søtt og søtt til bittert!
- OTB
- Ve dem som kaller det onde godt og det gode ondt, som setter mørke for lys og lys for mørke, som setter bittert for søtt og søtt for bittert.
- B1930
- Ve dem som kaller det onde godt og det gode ondt, som gjør mørke til lys og lys til mørke, som gjør bittert til søtt og søtt til bittert!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 17:15
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous— both are detestable to the LORD.
Read in context2 Timothy 3:1–5
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
Read in contextLuke 16:15
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
Read in contextMalachi 2:17
You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Read in contextJob 17:12
They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.
Read in contextMatthew 6:22–23
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
Read in contextAmos 5:7
There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
Read in context2 Peter 2:18–19
With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
Read in context