The Meaning of Isaiah 2:6 Explained

Isaiah 2:6

KJV: Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

YLT: For Thou hast left Thy people, the house of Jacob. For they have been filled from the east, And are sorcerers like the Philistines, And with the children of strangers strike hands.

Darby: For thou hast cast off thy people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with what comes from the east, and use auguries like the Philistines, and ally themselves with the children of foreigners.

ASV: For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are'soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore thou hast forsaken  thy people  the house  of Jacob,  because they be replenished  from the east,  and [are] soothsayers  like the Philistines,  and they please  themselves in the children  of strangers. 

What does Isaiah 2:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Israel must walk in Yahweh"s light because God had forsaken her in her present condition for departing from Him. Contrast the nations that will seek the Lord in the future ( Isaiah 2:2). Israel had stopped living as a distinct people in the world, had adopted the ways of other nations, and had relied on them rather than on the Lord. She had looked to the east (first Assyria and then Babylonia) for light rather than to the Lord, and had become like her despised enemies, the uncircumcised Philistines.

Context Summary

Isaiah 2:1-11 - A Vision Of World Peace
This and the four following chapters must be classed together as a distinct portion of this book, belonging to the earliest years of Isaiah's ministry. Their date is 735 b.c.; about the time of the accession of Ahaz to the throne. Isaiah 2:2-4 are evidently an ancient prophecy by some unknown seer, for Micah also quotes it. This section presents a fair vision of the future, when the beloved city must become the center of the religious life of the world, the seat of the theocracy, the burning nucleus of a reign of love and peace. We cherish this ancient prophecy as our guiding star in the present storm. But it can be realized only when the Son of God, riding forth on His white horse, has subdued His enemies. Then Revelation 21:1-27 and Revelation 22:1-21 will fulfill this ancient dream. The contrast between the ideal city and the actual is terrible, Isaiah 2:6-9. But let us not despair. The exalted Lord, from the right hand of power, is hastening the coming of the day of God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 2

1  Isaiah prophesies the coming of Christ's kingdom
6  Wickedness is the cause of God's forsaking
10  He exhorts to fear, because of the powerful effects of God's majesty

What do the individual words in Isaiah 2:6 mean?

For You have forsaken Your people the house of Jacob because they are filled with eastern ways and they [are] soothsayers like the Philistines and with the sons of foreigners they are pleased
כִּ֣י נָטַ֗שְׁתָּה עַמְּךָ֙ בֵּ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֔ב כִּ֤י מָלְאוּ֙ מִקֶּ֔דֶם וְעֹֽנְנִ֖ים כַּפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים וּבְיַלְדֵ֥י נָכְרִ֖ים יַשְׂפִּֽיקוּ

נָטַ֗שְׁתָּה  You  have  forsaken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: נָטַשׁ  
Sense: to leave, permit, forsake, cast off or away, reject, suffer, join, spread out or abroad, be loosed, cease, abandon, quit, hang loose, cast down, make a raid, lie fallow, let fall, forgo, draw.
עַמְּךָ֙  Your  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
בֵּ֣ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יַעֲקֹ֔ב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
כִּ֤י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
מָלְאוּ֙  they  are  filled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
מִקֶּ֔דֶם  with  eastern  ways 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֶדֶם 
Sense: east, antiquity, front, that which is before, aforetime.
וְעֹֽנְנִ֖ים  and  they  [are]  soothsayers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural
Root: עָנַן 
Sense: (Piel) to make appear, produce, bring (clouds).
כַּפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים  like  the  Philistines 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
וּבְיַלְדֵ֥י  and  with  the  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יֶלֶד  
Sense: child, son, boy, offspring, youth.
נָכְרִ֖ים  of  foreigners 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: נָכְרִי  
Sense: foreign, alien.
יַשְׂפִּֽיקוּ  they  are  pleased 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָפַק 
Sense: to clap, slap.