The Meaning of Isaiah 47:6 Explained

Isaiah 47:6

KJV: I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

YLT: I have been wroth against My people, I have polluted Mine inheritance And I give them into thy hand, Thou hast not appointed for them mercies, On the aged thou hast made thy yoke very heavy,

Darby: I was wroth with my people, I polluted mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the aged didst thou very heavily lay thy yoke;

ASV: I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I was wroth  with my people,  I have polluted  mine inheritance,  and given  them into thine hand:  thou didst shew  them no mercy;  upon the ancient  hast thou very  heavily  laid thy yoke. 

What does Isaiah 47:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Babylon had not been kind to the Israelites whom Yahweh had handed over to her. She had not really conquered Judah; God had given the Judahites over to the Babylonians. The Babylonians had been unmerciful toward the Israelites and had made life hard even for their elderly, those who deserved mercy simply because of their age. The Babylonians were not as hard on the Israelites as the Egyptians and the Assyrians had been. It was their arrogance more than their physical cruelty that made them unmerciful.

Context Summary

Isaiah 47:1-15 - The Penalty Of Trusting In Wickedness
Babylon dwelt in careless security. She was given to pleasures, Isaiah 47:8; and said in her heart that her vast crowd of astrologers, magicians, and priests, would certainly warn her of impending evil and deliver her. But nothing could be more absolute than her fall. For centuries she has been buried under mounds of desolation, while the Hebrew people, whom she so cruelly oppressed, are the monument of God's preserving mercy. The fact is that Babylon exceeded her duty. She was used as Jehovah's chastising rod upon the Hebrews, but she was merciless in the extreme in her behavior and for this excess she suffered. Compare Isaiah 47:6 with Zechariah 1:15.
Notice Isaiah 47:4. The prophet turns from the overthrow of the proud city to remind his people that Babylon's tribulation is due to the redeeming arm of God; and we must never forget that in the midst of her overthrow there was a thread of golden mercy. The loved that brooded over Nineveh must have been there. See Jonah 4:10-11. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 47

1  God's judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea
6  For their unmercifulness
7  Pride
10  And over-boldness
11  Shall be irresistible

What do the individual words in Isaiah 47:6 mean?

I was angry with My people I have profaned My inheritance and given them into your hand No You showed them mercy On the elderly you laid heavily your yoke very
קָצַ֣פְתִּי עַל־ עַמִּ֗י חִלַּ֙לְתִּי֙ נַחֲלָתִ֔י וָאֶתְּנֵ֖ם בְּיָדֵ֑ךְ לֹא־ שַׂ֤מְתְּ לָהֶם֙ רַחֲמִ֔ים עַל־ זָקֵ֕ן הִכְבַּ֥דְתְּ עֻלֵּ֖ךְ מְאֹֽד

קָצַ֣פְתִּי  I  was  angry 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: קָצַף  
Sense: to be displeased, be angry, fret oneself, be wroth.
עַמִּ֗י  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
חִלַּ֙לְתִּי֙  I  have  profaned 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: חָלַל 
Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
נַחֲלָתִ֔י  My  inheritance 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נַחֲלָה  
Sense: possession, property, inheritance, heritage.
וָאֶתְּנֵ֖ם  and  given  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
בְּיָדֵ֑ךְ  into  your  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
לֹא־  No 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שַׂ֤מְתְּ  You  showed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person feminine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
רַחֲמִ֔ים  mercy 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: רַחַם 
Sense: womb.
זָקֵ֕ן  the  elderly 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
הִכְבַּ֥דְתְּ  you  laid  heavily 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person feminine singular
Root: כָּבֵד  
Sense: to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured.
עֻלֵּ֖ךְ  your  yoke 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: עֹל  
Sense: yoke.
מְאֹֽד  very 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.