The Meaning of Isaiah 3:9 Explained

Isaiah 3:9

KJV: The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

YLT: The appearance of their faces witnessed against them, And their sin, as Sodom, they declared, They have not hidden! Woe to their soul, For they have done to themselves evil.

Darby: The look of their face doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom: they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have brought evil upon themselves.

ASV: The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have done evil unto themselves.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The shew  of their countenance  doth witness against them;  and they declare  their sin  as Sodom,  they hide  [it] not. Woe  unto their soul!  for they have rewarded  evil  unto themselves. 

What does Isaiah 3:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Instead of bowing before Yahweh"s glorious face, the Israelites were with brazen faces rebelling against Him, as the people of Sodom did. So it would go hard for them. "Woe" is an interjection of threat or distress. This Hebrew word, "oy, and its companion, hoy, occur22times in Isaiah , more frequently than in any other prophetic book. The Israelites had brought the judgment of God on themselves by their pride.

Context Summary

Isaiah 3:1-12 - An Exhortation To Humility And Reverence
If men will not repent, they must suffer. If they will not voluntarily put away their idols and sorceries, they will be compelled to do so in the anguish of their disappointment with their helpless deities, Isaiah 2:20. Nothing in that great civilization would be spared. High towers, fenced walls, ships, treasures, armor-all would perish. Their vaunted faith in man would cease. Life would become elemental in its simplicity amid the shelter of the ragged rocks. In sarcastic phrase the prophet depicts a despairing nation choosing for ruler the first man that came along with a decent coat on his back, Isaiah 2:6; but in vain. We can almost hear the sob of the prophet's soul in Isaiah 2:8-9, and recall the tears of a greater than Isaiah, Who wept over this same Jerusalem eight hundred years afterward. Patriotism is one of the purest passions that can burn in the heart of man! "Lives there a man, with soul so dead, that never to himself has said, This is my own, my native land!" [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 3

1  The great calamities which come by sin
10  The different rewards of the righteous and wicked
12  The oppression and covetousness of the rulers
16  The judgments which shall be for the pride of the women
25  The general desolation

What do the individual words in Isaiah 3:9 mean?

The look on their countenance witnesses against them and their sin as Sodom they declare not They do hide [it] Woe to their soul for they have brought upon themselves evil
הַכָּרַ֤ת פְּנֵיהֶם֙ עָ֣נְתָה בָּ֔ם וְחַטָּאתָ֛ם כִּסְדֹ֥ם הִגִּ֖ידוּ לֹ֣א כִחֵ֑דוּ א֣וֹי ! לְנַפְשָׁ֔ם כִּֽי־ גָמְל֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם רָעָֽה

הַכָּרַ֤ת  The  look  on 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: הַכָּרָה  
Sense: the look, appearance, expression.
פְּנֵיהֶם֙  their  countenance 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
עָ֣נְתָה  witnesses 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
בָּ֔ם  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
וְחַטָּאתָ֛ם  and  their  sin 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
כִּסְדֹ֥ם  as  Sodom 
Parse: Preposition-k, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סְדֹם  
Sense: a Canaanite city, usually paired with Gomorrah, located in the area of the Dead Sea and the Jordan river; both cities destroyed by God in judgment.
הִגִּ֖ידוּ  they  declare 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
כִחֵ֑דוּ  They  do  hide  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: כָּחַד  
Sense: to hide, conceal, cut off, cut down, make desolate, kick.
א֣וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: אֹוי  
Sense: woe! alas! oh!.
! לְנַפְשָׁ֔ם  to  their  soul 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
גָמְל֥וּ  they  have  brought 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: גָּמַל  
Sense: to deal fully with, recompense.
לָהֶ֖ם  upon  themselves 
Parse: Preposition-l, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
רָעָֽה  evil 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.