Isaiah 1:4

  Isaiah 1:4

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

a. ASV:  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged and gone backward.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: Ah, sinning nation, a people heavy with iniquity, A seed of evil doers, sons -- corrupters! They have forsaken Jehovah, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have gone away backward. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised and shown contempt and provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger, they have become utterly estranged (alienated).  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Milstein Edition, Later Prophets, Isaiah: Woe! [They are] a sinful nation, a people weighed down by iniquity, evil offspring, corrupt children!   [THE ARTSCROLL SERIES\MILSTEIN EDITION THE LATTER PROPHETS, ISAIAH Ⓒ Copyright 2013 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

e. Torah, Judaism and Jewish information on the web: www.chabad.org; Online English Translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible):  Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook the Lord; they provoked the Holy One of Israel; they drew backwards.  [English Translation, Ⓒ Copyright The Judaica Press All rights reserved.]

1. “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters…”

a. Ah [Strong: 1945 howy hoh'ee a prolonged form of 1930 (akin to 188); oh!:--ah, alas, ho, O, woe.]

b. sinful [Strong: 2398 chata' khaw-taw' a primitive root; properly, to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference, to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn:--bear the blame, cleanse, commit (sin), by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss, (make) offend(-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin(-ful, -ness), trespass.]

c. nation [Strong: 1471 gowy go'-ee rarely (shortened) goy {go'-ee}; apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:--Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

1). When Israel came out of Egypt they were nation and above all others.

a). Deuteronomy 4:7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

b). Deuteronomy 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

d. [a] people [Strong: 5971 `am am from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:--folk, men, nation, people.]

e. laden [Strong: 3515 kabed kaw-bade' from 3513; heavy; figuratively in a good sense (numerous) or in a bad sense (severe, difficult, stupid):--(so) great, grievous, hard(-ened), (too) heavy(-ier), laden, much, slow, sore, thick.]

f. [with] iniquity [Strong: 5771 `avon aw-vone' or oavown (2 Kings 7:9; Psalm 51:5 (7)) {aw-vone'}; from 5753; perversity, i.e. (moral) evil:--fault, iniquity, mischeif, punishment (of iniquity), sin.]

1). Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

g. [a] seed [Strong: 2233 zera` zeh'-rah from 2232; seed; figuratively, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity:--X carnally, child, fruitful, seed(-time), sowing- time.]

h. [of] evildoers [Strong: 7489 ra`a` raw-ah' a primitive root; properly, to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces); figuratively, to make (or be) good for nothing, i.e. bad (physically, socially or morally):--afflict, associate selves (by mistake for 7462), break (down, in pieces), + displease, (be, bring, do) evil (doer, entreat, man), show self friendly (by mistake for 7462), do harm, (do) hurt, (behave self, deal) ill, X indeed, do mischief, punish, still, vex, (do) wicked (doer, -ly), be (deal, do) worse.

i. children [Strong: 1121 ben bane from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

j. [that are] corrupters [Strong: 7843 shachath shaw-khath' a primitive root; to decay, i.e. (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively):--batter, cast off, corrupt(-er, thing), destroy(-er, -uction), lose, mar, perish, spill, spoiler, X utterly, waste(-r).]

1). A similar phrase to “a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters”, is found later in Isaiah. 

a). Isaiah 57:3, 4 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

57:4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.

2. “...they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

a. [they have] forsaken [Strong: 5800 `azab aw-zab' a primitive root; to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.:--commit self, fail, forsake, fortify, help, leave (destitute, off), refuse, X surely.]

b. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

c. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

d. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

e. [they have provoked the] Holy one [Strong: 6918 qadowsh kaw-doshe' or qadosh {kaw-doshe'}; from 6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary:--holy (One), saint.]

e. [unto] anger [Strong:  5006 na'ats naw-ats' a primitive root; to scorn; or (Ecclesiastes 12:5) by interchange for 5132, to bloom:--abhor, (give occasion to) blaspheme, contemn, despise, flourish, X great, provoke.

f. [they are] gone away [Strong:  2114 zuwr zoor a primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically (active participle) to commit adultery:--(come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-)strange(-r, thing, woman).]

1). The definitions of this Hebrew word are pregnant with meaning and links with many verses.

g. backward [Strong: 268 'achowr aw-khore' or (shortened) achor {aw-khore'}; from 299; the hinder part; hence (adverb) behind, backward; also (as facing north) the West:--after(-ward), back (part, -side, -ward), hereafter, (be-)hind(-er part), time to come, without.]