Passage

Isaiah 5.20

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope; 19. that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!"

"20. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

"21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;" (Isaiah 5:18-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"18. Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope; 19. Who say, “Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!”"

"20. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

"21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22. Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;" (Isaiah 5:18-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 19. That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!"

"20. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ^{call: Heb. say concerning evil, It is good, etc}"

"21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ^{in their own sight: Heb. before their face} 22. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:" (Isaiah 5:18-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"18. Woe [to] those drawing out iniquity with cords of vanity, And as [with] thick ropes of the cart, sin. 19. Who are saying, 'Let Him hurry, Let Him hasten His work, that we may see, And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel Draw near and come, and we know.'"

"20. Woe [to] those saying to evil 'good,' And to good 'evil,' Putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, Putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."

"21. Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes, And, before their own faces, intelligent! 22. Woe [to] the mighty to drink wine, And men of strength to mingle strong drink." (Isaiah 5:18-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.