The Meaning of Isaiah 5:18 Explained

Isaiah 5:18

KJV: Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

YLT: Woe to those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as with thick ropes of the cart -- sin.

Darby: Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with cart-ropes!

ASV: Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Woe  unto them that draw  iniquity  with cords  of vanity,  and sin  as it were with a cart  rope: 

What does Isaiah 5:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 5:18-30 - Warning Against Pride, Intemperance, And Corruption
The wild grapes of Judah are here continued: blind atheism, Isaiah 5:18-20; proud self-conceit, Isaiah 5:21; drunkenness, Isaiah 5:22; injustice in the courts, Isaiah 5:23-24. What a terrible description is that given in Isaiah 5:18 of the inevitable progress of sin! The bacchanalian procession which is seen, in Isaiah 5:14, descending with music and flowers into the open gates of Hades is described in Isaiah 5:18 as being drawn down by a cable. Men begin with a thread, but the thread of habit becomes a rope, and the rope grows to a cable, which ultimately lands a man in the pit. From Isaiah 5:25 onward we have the description of impending judgment. Earthquakes, armed raids, civil strife, and famine fever, the devastating inroads of hostile invasion, a desolate land and a hungry sea such would be the forces of destruction which Judah's sin would unloose. Recent events have revealed the terror of such a visitation. Remember that the wrath of love is as severe as a consuming fire. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 5

1  Under the parable of a vineyard, God excuses his severe judgment
8  His judgments upon covetousness
11  Upon lasciviousness
13  Upon impiety
20  And upon injustice
26  The executioners of God's judgments

What do the individual words in Isaiah 5:18 mean?

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity and as if with a rope cart sin
ה֛וֹי מֹשְׁכֵ֥י הֶֽעָוֺ֖ן בְּחַבְלֵ֣י הַשָּׁ֑וְא וְכַעֲב֥וֹת הָעֲגָלָ֖ה חַטָּאָֽה

ה֛וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
מֹשְׁכֵ֥י  to  those  who  draw 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: מָשַׁךְ  
Sense: to draw, drag, seize.
הֶֽעָוֺ֖ן  iniquity 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
בְּחַבְלֵ֣י  with  cords 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חֶבֶל 
Sense: a cord, rope, territory, band, company.
הַשָּׁ֑וְא  of  vanity 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁוְא  
Sense: emptiness, vanity, falsehood.
וְכַעֲב֥וֹת  and  as  if  with  a  rope 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Noun, common singular construct
Root: עָבֹות 
Sense: cord, rope, cordage, foliage, interwoven foliage.
הָעֲגָלָ֖ה  cart 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲגִילָה 
Sense: cart, wagon.
חַטָּאָֽה  sin 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.