The Meaning of Isaiah 59:10 Explained

Isaiah 59:10

KJV: We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

YLT: We feel like the blind for the wall, Yea, as without eyes we feel, We have stumbled at noon as at twilight, In desolate places as the dead.

Darby: We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at midday as in the twilight; amongst the flourishing we are as the dead.

ASV: We grope for the wall like the blind; yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among them that are lusty we are as dead men.

Discover Isaiah 59:10

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 59:10?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 59:10 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 59:10 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 59:10?

What is the context of Isaiah 59:10?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if [we had] no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; [we are] in desolate places as dead [men].

What does Isaiah 59:10 Mean?

Verse Meaning

All the parallel descriptions in this verse stress the hopelessness and vulnerability of the Israelites due to their natural blindness to God"s ways (cf. Isaiah 6:10; Isaiah 8:16-17; Isaiah 42:7; Deuteronomy 28:29).

"They are "blind" as to vision and clarity for guiding life, "stumbling" as to constancy and stability of life, "dead" as to vitality and "get-up-and-go"." ^[1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 59:1-15 - Iniquities Separate From God

Israel's sins, Isaiah 59:1-8. Much of our suffering in life results from our sins, which cut off God's health and help. Let us not blame Providence, but set ourselves to discover the cause of controversy. When the law courts-the fountains of justice-are demoralized, the community is in a hopeless condition, Isaiah 59:3-4. Instead of stamping out evil in the egg, the sinful heart hatches it out, and it yields the poison of vipers, Isaiah 59:5. Ah, the hapless state of the ungodly! Their feet, and their thoughts, and their paths, are fatal to the peace of others and to their own. The way of peace can be entered only at the Cross, and maintained only by constant watchfulness. See Luke 1:79.

Israel's confession, Isaiah 59:9-15. Here the stricken people pour out their complaint before God, confessing, first, the bitterness of their sufferings and then the blackness of their sins. The roar of the hungry bear for food and the dove's mourning for her mate, Isaiah 59:11, are apt descriptions of the complaint of the penitent soul. It is a good sign when a man cannot lift up his eyes to heaven and beats upon his breast, Luke 18:13. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 59

¹ Calamities are not due to lack of saving power in God, but to their own sins
¹⁶ Salvation is only of God
²⁰ The covenant of the Redeemer

What do the individual words in Isaiah 59:10 mean?

We grope for like the blind the wall and as if [we had] no eyes we grope we stumble at noonday as at twilight in desolate places [We are] as dead [men]

נְגַֽשְׁשָׁ֤ה כַֽעִוְרִים֙ קִ֔יר וּכְאֵ֥ין עֵינַ֖יִם נְגַשֵּׁ֑שָׁה כָּשַׁ֤לְנוּ בַֽצָּהֳרַ֙יִם֙ כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁף בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים כַּמֵּתִֽים

נְגַֽשְׁשָׁ֤ה	We grope for
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural Root: גָּשַׁשׁ Sense: to feel with the hand, grope, stroke, feel.
כַֽעִוְרִים֙	like the blind
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Adjective, masculine plural Root: עִוֵּר Sense: blind.
קִ֔יר	the wall
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: קִיר Sense: wall, side.
וּכְאֵ֥ין	and as if [we had] no
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Adverb Root: אַיִן Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
עֵינַ֖יִם	eyes
Parse: Noun, cd Root: עֹונָה Sense: eye.
נְגַשֵּׁ֑שָׁה	we grope
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural Root: גָּשַׁשׁ Sense: to feel with the hand, grope, stroke, feel.
כָּשַׁ֤לְנוּ	we stumble
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural Root: כָּשַׁל Sense: to stumble, stagger, totter.
בַֽצָּהֳרַ֙יִם֙	at noonday
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural Root: צֹהַר Sense: noon, midday.
כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁף	as at twilight
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: נֶשֶׁף Sense: twilight.
בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים	in desolate places
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural Root: אַשְׁמָן Sense: the stout, among the stout.
כַּמֵּתִֽים	[We are] as dead [men]
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural Root: מוּת Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 59:10?

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Similar Scriptures for Isaiah 59:10

		Deuteronomy 28:29 [5]
		Job 5:14 [4]
		Lamentations 3:6 [4]
		Proverbs 4:19 [2]
		John 11:9-10 [2]
		Isaiah 8:15 [2]
		John 12:40 [2]
		Amos 8:9 [2]
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		John 12:35 [2]
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