The Meaning of Isaiah 59:14 Explained

Isaiah 59:14

KJV: And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

YLT: And removed backward is judgment, And righteousness afar off standeth, For truth hath been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,

Darby: And judgment is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth stumbleth in the street, and uprightness cannot enter.

ASV: And justice is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And judgment  is turned away  backward,  and justice  standeth  afar off:  for truth  is fallen  in the street,  and equity  cannot  enter. 

What does Isaiah 59:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

These are the reasons justice and righteousness stood far removed from the people. Truth had collapsed, so uprightness could not enter the company of the redeemed (cf. Isaiah 1:21-23).

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 59:14 mean?

And is turned back Justice and righteousness afar off stands for is fallen in the street truth and equity cannot - enter
וְהֻסַּ֤ג אָחוֹר֙ מִשְׁפָּ֔ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה מֵרָח֣וֹק תַּעֲמֹ֑ד כִּֽי־ כָשְׁלָ֤ה בָֽרְחוֹב֙ אֱמֶ֔ת וּנְכֹחָ֖ה לֹא־ תוּכַ֥ל לָבֽוֹא

וְהֻסַּ֤ג  And  is  turned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hofal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּג  
Sense: to move away, backslide, move, go, turn back.
אָחוֹר֙  back 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָחֹור  
Sense: the back side, the rear.
מִשְׁפָּ֔ט  Justice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁפָּט  
Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
וּצְדָקָ֖ה  and  righteousness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
מֵרָח֣וֹק  afar  off 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָחֹוק  
Sense: remote, far, distant, distant lands, distant ones.
תַּעֲמֹ֑ד  stands 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
כָשְׁלָ֤ה  is  fallen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּשַׁל  
Sense: to stumble, stagger, totter.
בָֽרְחוֹב֙  in  the  street 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: רְחֹב  
Sense: broad or open place or plaza.
אֱמֶ֔ת  truth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
וּנְכֹחָ֖ה  and  equity 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נָכֹחַ  
Sense: straight in front, be in front of, straight, right, straightness.
לֹא־  cannot 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תוּכַ֥ל  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָכֹל  
Sense: to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able.
לָבֽוֹא  enter 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.