Isaiah 59:6
4 No 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.
5 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.
Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
8 The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- Their webs won’t become garments. They won’t cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence are in their hands.
- ASV
- 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.
- DARBY
- 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.
- BLB
- Their webs will not become garments, and they cannot cover themselves with their works; their works [are] works of iniquity, and a deed of violence [is] in their hands.
- ÅB
- Deres vev blir ikke til klær, og en kan ikke dekke seg med deres gjerninger; deres gjerninger er ondskaps gjerninger, og det er voldsverk i deres hender.
- OTB
- Deres nett kan ikke bli til klær, og de kan ikke dekke seg med det de lager. Deres gjerninger er misgjerninger, og vold er i deres hender.
- B1930
- Deres vev blir ikke til klær, og en kan ikke dekke sig med deres gjerninger; deres gjerninger er ondskaps gjerninger, og det er voldsverk i deres hender.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Jeremiah 6:7
As a well gushes its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her; sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
Read in contextRevelation 3:17–18
You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
Read in contextIsaiah 57:12
I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not profit you.
Read in contextJob 8:14–15
His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web.
Read in contextHabakkuk 1:2–4
How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?
Read in contextAmos 6:3
You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
Read in contextIsaiah 30:12–14
Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, trusting in oppression and relying on deceit,
Read in contextIsaiah 30:1
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
Read in context