TRV
Translation
King James Version
And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Complete Jewish Bible
Thus justice is repelled, righteousness stands apart, at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public court, and uprightness cannot enter.
Berean Standard Bible
So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
American Standard Version
And justice is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter.
World English Bible Messianic
Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Therefore iudgement is turned backewarde, and iustice standeth farre off: for trueth is fallen in the streete, and equitie cannot enter.
Young's Literal Translation
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,
In the KJVVerse 18,815 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Isaiah 59 verses 9–15
9 ¶ Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 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.
11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
The scope of this paragraph is the same with that of the last, to show that sin is the great mischief-maker; as it is that which keeps good things from us, so it is that which brings evil things upon us. But as there it is spoken by the prophet, in God's name, to the people, for their conviction and humiliation, and that God might be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges, so here it seems to be spoken by the people to God, as an acknowledgment of that which was there told them and an expression of their humble submission and subscription to the justice and equity of God's proceedings against them. Their uncircumcised hearts here seem to be humbled in some measure, and they are brought to confess (the confession is at least extorted from them), that God had justly walked contrary to them, because they had walked contrary to him.
I. They acknowledge that God had contended with them and had walked contrary to them. Their case was very deplorable, Isa 59:9-11. 1. They were in distress, trampled upon and oppressed by their enemies, unjustly dealt with, and ruled with rigour; and God did not appear for them, to plead their just and injured cause: "Judgment is far from us, neither does justice overtake us, Isa 59:9. Though, as to our persecutors, we are sure that we have right on our side; and they are the wrong-doers, yet we are not relieved, we are not righted. We have not done justice to one another, and therefore God suffers our enemies to deal thus unjustly with us, and we are as far as ever from being restored to our right and recovering our property again. Oppression is near us, and judgment is far from us. Our enemies are far from giving our case its due consideration, but still hurry us on with the violence of their oppressions, and justice does not overtake us, to rescue us out of their hands." 2. Herein their expectations were sadly disappointed, which made their case the more sad: "We wait for light as those that wait for the morning, but behold obscurity; we cannot discern the least dawning of the day of our deliverance. We look for judgment, but there is none (Isa 59:11); neither God nor man appears for our succour; we look for salvation, because God (we think) has promised it, and we have prayed for it with fasting; we look for it as for brightness, but it is far off from us, as far off as ever for aught we can perceive, and still we walk in darkness; and the higher our expectations have been raised the sorer is the disappointment." 3. They were quite at a loss what to do to help themselves and were at their wits' end (Isa 59:10): "We grope for the wall like the blind; we see no way open for our relief, nor know which way to expect it, or what to do in order to it." If we shut our eyes against the light of divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace; and, if we use not our eyes as we should, it is just with him to let us be as if we had no eyes. Those that will not see their duty shall not see their interest. Those whom God has given up to a judicial blindness are strangely infatuated; they stumble at noon-day as in the night; they see not either those dangers, or those advantages, which all about them see. Quos Deus vult perdere, eos dementat - God infatuates those whom he means to destroy. Those that love darkness rather than light shall have their doom accordingly. 4. They sunk into despair and were quite overwhelmed with grief, the marks of which appeared in every man's countenance; they grew melancholy upon it, shunned conversation, and affected solitude: We are in desolate places as dead men. The state of the Jews in Babylon is represented by dead and dry bones (Eze 37:12) and the explanation of the comparison there (Isa 59:11) explains this text: Our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts. In this despair the sorrow and anguish of some were loud and noisy: We roar like bears; the sorrow of others was silent, and preyed more upon their spirits: "We mourn sore like doves, like doves of the valleys; we mourn both for our iniquities (Eze 7:16) and for our calamities." Thus they owned that the hand of the Lord had gone out against them.
II. They acknowledge that they had provoked God thus to contend with them, that he had done right, for they had done wickedly, Isa 59:12-15. 1. They owned that they had sinned, and that to this day they were in a great trespass, as Ezra speaks (Ezr 10:10): "Our transgressions are with us; the guilt of them is upon us, the power of them prevails among us, we are not yet reformed, nor have we parted with our sins, though they have done so much mischief. Nay, our transgressions are multiplied; they are more numerous and more heinous than they have been formerly. Look which way we will, we cannot look off them; all places, all orders and degrees of men, are infected. The sense of our transgression is with us, as David said, My sin is ever before me; it is too plain to be denied or concealed, too bad to be excused or palliated. God is a witness to them: They are multiplied before thee, in thy sight, under thy eye. We are witnesses against ourselves: As for our iniquities, we know them, though we may have foolishly endeavoured to cover them. Nay, they themselves are witnesses: Our sins stare us in the face and testify against us, so many have they been and so deeply aggravated." 2. They owned the great evil and malignity of sin, of their sin; it is transgressing and lying against the Lord, v. 13. The sins of those that profess themselves God's people, and bear his name, are upon this account worse than the sins of others, that in transgressing they lie against the Lord, they falsely accuse him, they misrepresent and belie him, as if he had dealt hardly and unfairly with them; or they perfidiously break covenant with him and falsify their most sacred and solemn engagements to him, which is lying against him: it is departing away from our God, to whom we are bound as our God and to whom we ought to cleave with purpose of heart; from him we have departed, as the rebellious subject from his allegiance to his rightful prince, and the adulterous wife from the guide of her youth and the covenant of her God. 3. They owned that there was a general decay of moral honesty; and it is not strange that those who were false to their God were unfaithful to one another. They spoke oppression, declared openly for that, though it was a revolt from their God and a revolt from the truth, by the sacred bonds of which we should always be tied and held fast. They conceived and uttered words of falsehood. Many ill thing is conceived in the mind, yet is prudently stifled there, and not suffered to go any further; but these sinners were so impudent, so daring, that whatever wickedness they conceived, they gave it an imprimatur - a sanction, and made no difficulty of publishing it. To think an ill thing is bad, but to say it is much worse. Many a word of falsehood is uttered in haste, for want of consideration; but these were conceived and uttered, were uttered - deliberately and of malice prepense. They were words of falsehood, and yet they are said to be uttered from the heart, because, though they differed from the real sentiments of the heart and therefore were words of falsehood, yet they agreed with the malice and wickedness of the heart, and were the natural language of that; it was a double heart, Psa 12:2. Those who by the grace of God kept themselves free from these enormous crimes yet put themselves into the confession of sin, because members of that nation which was generally thus corrupted. 4. They owned that that was not done which might have been done to reform the land and to amend what was amiss, Isa 59:14. "Judgment, that should go forward, and bear down the opposition that is made to it, that should run in its course like a river, like a mighty stream, is turned away backward, a contrary course. The administration of justice has become but a cover to the greatest injustice. Judgment, that should check the proceedings of fraud and violence, is driven back, and so they go on triumphantly. Justice stands afar off, even from our courts of judicature, which are so crowded with the patrons of oppression that equity cannot enter, cannot have admission into the court, cannot be heard, or at least will not be heeded. Equity enters not into the unrighteous decrees which they decree, Isa 10:1. Truth is fallen in the street, and there she may lie to be trampled upon by every foot of pride, and she has never a friend that will lend a hand to help her up; yea, truth fails in common conversation, and in dealings between man and man, so that one knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust." 5. They owned that there was a prevailing enmity in men's minds to those that were good: He that does evil goes unpunished, but he that departs from evil makes himself a prey to those beasts of prey that were before described. It is crime enough with them for a man not to do as they do, and they treat him as an enemy who will not partake with them in their wickedness. He that departs from evil is accounted mad; so the margin reads. Sober singularity is branded as folly, and he is thought next door to a madman who swims against the stream that runs so strongly. 6. They owned that all this could not but be very displeasing to the God of heaven. The evil was done in his sight. They knew very well, though they were not willing to acknowledge it, that the Lord saw it; though it was done secretly, and gilded over with specious pretences, yet it could not be concealed from his all-seeing eye. All the wickedness that is in the world is naked and open before the eyes of God; and, as he is of quicker eyes than not to see iniquity, so he is of purer eyes than to behold it with the least approbation or allowance. He saw it, and it displeased him, though it was among his own professing people that he saw it. It was evil in his eyes; he saw the sinfulness of all this sin, and that which was most offensive to him was that there was no judgment, no reformation; had he seen any signs of repentance, though the sin displeased him, he would soon have been reconciled to the sinners upon their returning from their evil way. Then the sin of a nation becomes national, and brings public judgments, when it is not restrained by public justice.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 9–15. Public domain.
Copy as
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Isaiah
(Ver. 12 seqq.) Our iniquities have multiplied before you, and our sins have answered us: for our crimes are with us, and we know our iniquities. To sin and lie against the Lord: and we turned away, so as not to go after the back of our Lord, to speak calumny, and we conceived transgression, and we spoke deceitful words from the heart. And judgment has been turned away backwards, and justice has stood far off, for truth has fallen down in the street, and equity could not enter. And truth has been turned into forgetfulness, and those who have turned away from evil have become a prey. LXX: For our iniquity is great in your sight, and our sins have held us back. For our iniquities are within us, and we have acknowledged our injustices. We have acted impiously, and we have lied, and we have turned away from our God. We have spoken wickedly and we have been disobedient. We have conceived and contemplated wicked words in our hearts. And we have gone away from judgement, and justice stands far away, because truth has been consumed in their ways, and they were not able to pass through the straight path. And truth has been taken away, and they have turned their mind so that they do not understand. They roar like bears; they meditate like doves; they wait for judgment that is not there, and salvation has passed on to the nations. For our iniquities have multiplied, saying, our iniquities are before you, from whom you have turned away your face for a long time, so that you would not see them, nor strike us. And our sins have answered against us, so that we receive what we deserve. And our crimes are with us: we have recognized our injustices, which we used to think were righteousness for a long time. But what are these injustices? To sin and to lie against God: or as Aquila translated according to the Hebrew, to deny God: which refers to the Savior. And they say: We have abandoned our God, saying: We know that God spoke to Moses: but we do not know where this one comes from (John 9:29), so that we may speak false accusations, If this man were from God, he would not break the Sabbath (Ibid., 16). And he cast out devils from the prince of devils (Luke 11:15). And transgression, which is more significantly called apostasy in Greek, is when someone denies God and is accused of rebellion. We have conceived and spoken words of falsehood from the heart, despising the law of God and following the traditions of men, which they call second commandments, and which we have pretended in our heart. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off. For what part does justice have with iniquity? What fellowship does Christ have with Belial? Righteousness has stood among the nations and has departed from us, for truth has fallen in the squares. For the way that leads to death is wide and spacious (Matthew 7), for they refused to enter the narrow path where truth resides. And truth has been forgotten, as it is written: Truth has sprung up from the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven (Psalm 85:12). It should be noted that the truth is frequently mentioned in order to show the person of Christ, whom they abandoned and followed falsehood. And he who departed from evil was exposed to plunder. Although this may seem obscure, it can be explained as follows: when we fabricate lies from our own hearts and abandon God's law, righteousness remains far away, and truth falls in the streets, and fairness cannot enter us, and the Son of God, who is the truth, is forgotten: to such an extent that whoever desires to depart from the traditions of the Jews immediately becomes exposed to snares and persecutions, so that they expelled the man blind from birth who received sight from the synagogues (John 9). And after the resurrection of the Lord Savior, all those who believed in him were persecuted and stripped: to whom the ministries of the Church were directed, which were distributed through the hands of the Apostles to the whole world of the nations.
Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 18:59.14
The prophetic text makes this statement detailed in order to invite those who desire help to appease the Lord by saying something like the following: We acknowledge our offenses, we have recognized our impiety, we have spoken falsely against you, our Master, since we promised to keep your laws and we have violated them. We have not ceased contradicting you, uttering words of unrighteousness, proposing things that are unjust, failing to dread your judgment. We have kept ourselves far from righteousness. After this, he changes the form of his statements and puts their accusation categorically: “For truth is consumed in their ways.” It has vanished, he says, because deceit has veiled it. “And they could not pass by a straight path.” For they have not stopped taking the opposite route.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Isaiah 59:14 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Isaiah 59:14 presents a stark and lamentable portrait of a society in profound moral and spiritual decline, where the foundational pillars of righteous governance and societal integrity have collapsed. The prophet Isaiah vividly describes a public sphere where justice and judgment are perverted and inaccessible, truth is openly disregarded and trampled, and fairness finds no entry. This verse serves as a powerful indictment of a nation whose pervasive sinfulness has led to a catastrophic breakdown of civil order and a deep separation from God's intended standards of uprightness, highlighting the dire consequences of a people's rebellion against divine principles.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Isaiah 59:14 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its message of pervasive societal decay. Personification is prominently used, as abstract concepts like "judgment," "justice," "truth," and "equity" are given human-like actions: judgment is "turned away backward," justice "standeth afar off," truth "is fallen," and equity "cannot enter." This imbues these concepts with a sense of agency and suffering, making their absence or perversion more palpable and tragic. The phrase "truth is fallen in the street" is a striking metaphor, likening truth to a physical entity that has stumbled and lies disgraced in a public place, emphasizing its public abandonment, vulnerability, and the open contempt it faces. The cumulative effect of these images, describing multiple pillars of society in a state of collapse, creates a powerful sense of hyperbole and lament, underscoring the overwhelming and comprehensive nature of the nation's moral failure. The parallel structure of the clauses also contributes to the rhythmic intensity and reinforces the pervasive and systemic nature of the problem.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Isaiah 59:14 serves as a profound theological statement on the indispensable nature of justice, truth, and equity for a society's well-being and its relationship with God. It reveals that when these divine attributes are abandoned, the result is not merely social disorder but a deep spiritual chasm between humanity and its Creator. The prophet's lament underscores the biblical conviction that true righteousness is not just a personal virtue but a societal imperative, reflecting God's own character and His desire for His people to embody His attributes. The perversion of justice and the public abandonment of truth are seen as direct affronts to God's holy nature, necessitating His intervention. This passage resonates with the broader prophetic tradition that consistently calls for social justice as an integral part of covenant faithfulness, arguing that ritual worship is meaningless without ethical living and a commitment to righteousness in all spheres of life.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Isaiah 59:14 offers a timeless and sobering reflection on the fragility of societal order when its moral foundations erode. For believers today, this verse is a powerful call to examine the state of our own communities and hearts. Are we, individually and collectively, contributing to the perversion of justice, the disregard for truth, or the obstruction of equity? The "street" where truth has fallen can represent our public discourse, media, legal systems, and even our personal interactions and relationships. This passage challenges us to be active agents of righteousness, speaking truth in love, advocating for the marginalized, and upholding integrity in all spheres of life, even when it is unpopular, inconvenient, or costly. It reminds us that our faith is not merely private piety but has profound implications for how we engage with and seek to transform the world around us, reflecting God's character in a fallen world. While the picture painted in this verse is bleak, the subsequent verses in Isaiah 59 point to God's ultimate intervention, offering profound hope that even in the darkest times, His justice and salvation will ultimately prevail.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "truth is fallen in the street" mean metaphorically?
Answer: Metaphorically, "truth is fallen in the street" signifies the public abandonment, degradation, and disregard for honesty, integrity, and faithfulness. It suggests that truth, which should be openly upheld and accessible, is instead openly disgraced, trampled underfoot, and rendered ineffective in the very public spaces where life unfolds, such as legal proceedings, commerce, and general discourse. This powerful imagery conveys a profound moral decay where the foundational pillar of integrity has collapsed, and genuine veracity is no longer valued or sought after, but rather lies exposed to contempt.
Is there hope for a society described in Isaiah 59:14?
Answer: While Isaiah 59:14 paints a dire picture of societal collapse due to pervasive sin, the broader context of Isaiah 59, and indeed the entire book of Isaiah, offers profound hope. Immediately following this lament, Isaiah describes God's response to the absence of justice and intercession. Because "there was no man" to help, God Himself intervenes, putting on righteousness as a breastplate and salvation as a helmet, and executing judgment with zeal, as seen in Isaiah 59:16-17. This foreshadows God's ultimate act of redemption and the establishment of His righteous kingdom. Therefore, the hope for such a society lies not in its own ability to reform but in God's sovereign and just intervention to bring salvation and establish lasting righteousness, ultimately through the Messiah.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Isaiah 59:14, with its lament over the devastating absence of judgment, justice, truth, and equity, finds its ultimate and profound fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah, in this very chapter, sets the stage for God's direct intervention because "there was no man" to intercede or bring justice, and "no one to uphold" righteousness (Isaiah 59:16). This divine intervention is perfectly embodied in Jesus, who is the very Truth made flesh, declaring Himself to be "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He did not allow truth to fall in the street but lived a life of perfect integrity, speaking and embodying divine reality, even to the point of death. Jesus is also the embodiment of perfect Justice and Righteousness, fulfilling the Law and establishing a new covenant where righteousness is imputed to believers through faith, as God's righteousness is revealed through faith in Christ (Romans 3:21-26). Where human judgment was "turned away backward" and justice "stood afar off," Christ, through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, provided the means for humanity to be reconciled to a holy God, thereby establishing true justice and Equity by making those who believe righteous in God's sight (2 Corinthians 5:21). His inaugurated kingdom is characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Thus, the despair of Isaiah 59:14 is transformed into the glorious hope of the Gospel, where Christ, the righteous King and divine Intercessor, brings about the very justice, truth, and equity that humanity so desperately lacked and continues to long for.