Isaiah 5:13

Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because [they have] no knowledge: and their honourable men [are] famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

Therefore my people {H5971} are gone into captivity {H1540}, because they have no knowledge {H1847}: and their honourable {H3519} men {H4962} are famished {H7458}, and their multitude {H1995} dried up {H6704} with thirst {H6772}.

For such lack of knowledge my people go into exile; this is also why their respected men starve and their masses are parched from thirst.

Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.

Therefore my people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

Isaiah 5:13 serves as a stark declaration of the consequences for spiritual ignorance and moral decay within ancient Judah, a key theme in the prophet Isaiah's warnings.

Context

This verse is part of a series of "woes" (Isaiah 5:8-25) pronounced by the prophet Isaiah against the moral and spiritual corruption prevalent in Judah during his time. It follows the powerful "Song of the Vineyard" (Isaiah 5:1-7), which allegorically depicts God's meticulous care for Israel and their subsequent failure to produce righteous fruit. Verse 13 directly states the inevitable outcome of their spiritual barrenness and disobedience: captivity and desolation. The historical backdrop is the impending judgment and exile by powerful empires like Assyria and later Babylon, which God would use as instruments of His righteous judgment.

Key Themes

  • Consequences of Ignorance: The primary reason given for the impending captivity is "because they have no knowledge." This is not merely an intellectual deficit but a profound lack of spiritual discernment, a failure to truly know God, His character, and His righteous demands. This echoes the sentiment found in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
  • Spiritual Famine and Thirst: The imagery of "honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst" vividly portrays not just physical suffering during exile, but a deeper spiritual starvation. Their leaders and common people alike would experience a profound lack of spiritual sustenance and truth, a judgment often paralleled with a "famine of hearing the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11).
  • Divine Judgment and Exile: The verse explicitly foretells the judgment of God leading to captivity. This serves as a clear warning that turning away from God's ways has severe, divinely ordained consequences, fulfilling the covenant curses described in the Old Testament for disobedience (e.g., Deuteronomy 28:15ff).

Linguistic Insights

The Hebrew word for "knowledge" here is da'at (דַּעַת). It signifies more than just factual information; it implies experiential knowledge, understanding, discernment, and a relational knowing of God and His will. The people's failure was not just in not knowing facts about God, but in failing to live in accordance with His known character and commands. The terms "famished" and "dried up with thirst" are powerful metaphors emphasizing utter destitution and deprivation, both physically in exile and spiritually due to their separation from God.

Practical Application

Isaiah 5:13 remains profoundly relevant today. It underscores the critical importance of spiritual literacy and discernment for believers. A lack of genuine knowledge of God's Word and His ways can lead to spiritual vulnerability, moral decay, and ultimately, severe consequences, both individually and corporately. This verse calls us to actively seek God's truth, to be nourished by His Word, and to live in obedience, lest we face a similar spiritual famine or judgment. It reminds us that true freedom comes from knowing and following God, while ignorance and disobedience lead to a form of spiritual "captivity."

Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Hosea 4:6

    ¶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

  • Isaiah 1:3

    The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: [but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

  • Isaiah 27:11

    When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, [and] set them on fire: for it [is] a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

  • Isaiah 1:7

    Your country [is] desolate, your cities [are] burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and [it is] desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

  • Romans 1:28

    And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

  • John 3:19

    And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

  • John 3:20

    For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

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