The Meaning of Isaiah 1:23 Explained

Isaiah 1:23

KJV: Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

YLT: Thy princes are apostates, and companions of thieves, Every one loving a bribe, and pursuing rewards, The fatherless they judge not, And the plea of the widow cometh not to them.

Darby: thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth presents, and hunteth after rewards; they judge not the fatherless, and the cause of the widow cometh not unto them.

ASV: Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thy princes  [are] rebellious,  and companions  of thieves:  every one loveth  gifts,  and followeth  after rewards:  they judge  not the fatherless,  neither doth the cause  of the widow  come  unto them. 

What does Isaiah 1:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 1:21-31 - A Nation Purged Of Dross By Disaster
The great lover of our souls does not abandon His people even when they spurn the first overtures of His appealing pity. Though they refuse to yield to them, He refuses to cast them off; and sets Himself by the cleansing judgments of His providence to wean them from the evil ways they have chosen and to win them back to Himself. If only Jerusalem had now listened to Isaiah's earnest pleadings, she would never have been carried away into the seventy years' captivity in a land of strangers. This is the cleansing fire referred to in Isaiah 1:25. Their ground of confidence, whether in themselves or their allies, would be destroyed, Isaiah 1:29-30; the ringleaders of the evil which had brought them to desolation would be exterminated; and there would emerge a new and purified people as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Let us thank God for the cleansing fires in national and personal experience. Let us not fear them when plied by the hand of love. See Malachi 3:3 and John 15:2-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 1

1  Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5  He laments her judgments
10  He upbraids their whole service
16  He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21  Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25  He promises grace
28  And threatens destruction to the wicked

What do the individual words in Isaiah 1:23 mean?

Your princes [are] rebellious and companions of thieves Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards The fatherless not they do defend and the cause of the widow nor does come before them -
שָׂרַ֣יִךְ סוֹרְרִ֗ים וְחַבְרֵי֙ גַּנָּבִ֔ים כֻּלּוֹ֙ אֹהֵ֣ב שֹׁ֔חַד וְרֹדֵ֖ף שַׁלְמֹנִ֑ים יָתוֹם֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁפֹּ֔טוּ וְרִ֥יב אַלְמָנָ֖ה לֹֽא־ יָב֥וֹא אֲלֵיהֶֽם פ

שָׂרַ֣יִךְ  Your  princes 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
סוֹרְרִ֗ים  [are]  rebellious 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: סָרַר  
Sense: to rebel, be stubborn, be rebellious, be refractory.
וְחַבְרֵי֙  and  companions 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חָבֵר  
Sense: united.
גַּנָּבִ֔ים  of  thieves 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גַּנָּב  
Sense: thief.
כֻּלּוֹ֙  Everyone 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
אֹהֵ֣ב  loves 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אָהַב  
Sense: to love.
שֹׁ֔חַד  bribes 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁחַד  
Sense: present, bribe.
וְרֹדֵ֖ף  and  follows  after 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
שַׁלְמֹנִ֑ים  rewards 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שַׁלְמֹנִים  
Sense: reward, bribe.
יָתוֹם֙  The  fatherless 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָתֹום  
Sense: an orphan, fatherless.
יִשְׁפֹּ֔טוּ  they  do  defend 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁפַט  
Sense: to judge, govern, vindicate, punish.
וְרִ֥יב  and  the  cause 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רִיב 
Sense: strife, controversy, dispute.
אַלְמָנָ֖ה  of  the  widow 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַלְמָנָה  
Sense: widow.
לֹֽא־  nor 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָב֥וֹא  does  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֲלֵיהֶֽם  before  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation