Isaiah 5:20

Bible in Basic English (1941)

Cursed are those who give the name of good to evil, and of evil to what is good: who make light dark, and dark light: who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Prov 17:15 : 15 He who gives a decision for the evil-doer and he who gives a decision against the upright, are equally disgusting to the Lord.
  • Matt 6:22-23 : 22 The light of the body is the eye; if then your eye is true, all your body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, all your body will be dark. If then the light which is in you is dark, how dark it will be!
  • Luke 11:34-35 : 34 The light of the body is the eye: when your eye is true, all your body is full of light; but when it is evil, your body is dark. 35 So take care that the light which is in you is not dark.
  • 2 Tim 3:1-5 : 1 But be certain of this, that in the last days times of trouble will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, uplifted in pride, given to bitter words, going against the authority of their fathers, never giving praise, having no religion, 3 Without natural love, bitter haters, saying evil of others, violent and uncontrolled, hating all good, 4 False to their friends, acting without thought, lifted up in mind, loving pleasure more than God; 5 Having a form of religion, but turning their backs on the power of it: go not with these.
  • Job 17:12 : 12 They are changing night into day; they say, The light is near the dark.
  • Matt 15:3-6 : 3 And in answer he said to them, Why do you, yourselves, go against the word of God on account of the teaching which has been handed down to you? 4 For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death. 5 But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is given to God; 6 There is no need for him to give honour to his father. And you have made the word of God without effect because of your teaching.
  • Luke 16:15 : 15 And he said, You take care to seem right in the eyes of men, but God sees your hearts: and those things which are important in the opinion of men, are evil in the eyes of God.
  • Mal 2:17 : 17 You have made the Lord tired with your words. And still you say, How have we made him tired? By your saying, Everyone who does evil is good in the eyes of the Lord, and he has delight in them; or, Where is God the judge?
  • 2 Pet 2:1 : 1 But there were false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, even turning away from the Lord who gave himself for them; whose destruction will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it.
  • 2 Pet 2:18-19 : 18 For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error; 19 Saying that they will be free, while they themselves are the servants of destruction; because whatever gets the better of a man makes a servant of him.
  • Mal 3:15 : 15 And now to us the men of pride seem happy; yes, the evil-doers are doing well; they put God to the test and are safe.
  • Amos 5:7 : 7 You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth;
  • Matt 23:16-23 : 16 A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible. 17 You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18 And, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the offering which is on it, he is responsible. 19 You blind ones: which is greater, the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy? 20 He, then, who takes an oath by the altar, takes it by the altar and by all things on it. 21 And he who takes an oath by the Temple, takes it by the Temple and by him whose house it is. 22 And he who takes an oath by heaven, takes it by the seat of God, and by him who is seated on it. 23 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Isa 5:21-23
    3 verses
    81%

    21 Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

    22 Cursed are those who are strong to take wine, and great in making mixed drinks!

    23 Who for a reward give support to the cause of the sinner, and who take away the righteousness of the upright from him.

  • Isa 5:18-19
    2 verses
    76%

    18 Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin!

    19 Who say, Let him do his work quickly, let him make it sudden, so that we may see it: let the design of the Holy One of Israel come near, so that it may be clear to us.

  • 7 You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth;

  • Isa 10:1-2
    2 verses
    74%

    1 Cursed are those who make evil decisions, and the writers who make the records of their cruel acts:

    2 Who do wrong to the poor in their cause, and take away the right of the crushed among my people, so that they may have the property of widows, and get under their power those who have no father.

  • 18 Sorrow to you who are looking for the day of the Lord! what is the day of the Lord to you? it is dark and not light.

  • 20 Will not the day of the Lord be dark and not light? even very dark, with no light shining in it?

  • 15 Cursed are those who go deep to keep their designs secret from the Lord, and whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who sees us? and who has knowledge of our acts?

  • Prov 2:13-15
    3 verses
    72%

    13 Who give up the way of righteousness, to go by dark roads;

    14 Who take pleasure in wrongdoing, and have joy in the evil designs of the sinner;

    15 Whose ways are not straight, and whose footsteps are turned to evil:

  • 9 Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full.

  • 1 A curse on the designers of evil, working on their beds! in the morning light they do it, because it is in their power.

  • 30 A thing of wonder and fear has come about in the land;

  • 11 Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him.

  • 2 You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones;

  • 2 Though he is wise, and able to send evil, and his purpose will not be changed; but he will go against the house of the evil-doers, and against those to whom they are looking for help.

  • 20 Say this openly in Jacob and give it out in Judah, saying,

  • 19 The way of sinners is dark; they see not the cause of their fall.

  • 17 You have made the Lord tired with your words. And still you say, How have we made him tired? By your saying, Everyone who does evil is good in the eyes of the Lord, and he has delight in them; or, Where is God the judge?

  • 11 Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine!

  • 20 The uncontrolled are hated by the Lord, but those whose ways are without error are his delight

  • 12 They are changing night into day; they say, The light is near the dark.

  • 10 Who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Do not give us word of what is true, but say false things to give us pleasure:

  • 24 He who says to the evil-doer, You are upright, will be cursed by peoples and hated by nations.

  • John 3:19-20
    2 verses
    70%

    19 And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.

    20 The light is hated by everyone whose acts are evil and he does not come to the light for fear that his acts will be seen.

  • 30 And his voice will be loud over him in that day like the sounding of the sea: and if a man's eyes are turned to the earth, it is all dark and full of trouble; and the light is made dark by thick clouds.

  • 20 Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...

  • 15 A curse on him who gives his neighbour the wine of his wrath, making him overcome with strong drink from the cup of his passion, so that you may be a witness of their shame!

  • 14 In the daytime it becomes dark for them, and in the sunlight they go feeling about as if it was night.

  • 23 Unequal weights are disgusting to the Lord, and false scales are not good.

  • 14 Go after good and not evil, so that life may be yours: and so the Lord, the God of armies, will be with you, as you say.

  • 11 Evil is there; cruel rule and deceit are ever in the streets.

  • 20 They give me back evil for good; they are my haters because I go after the thing which is right.

  • 1 Ho! uncontrolled children, says the Lord, who give effect to a purpose which is not mine, and who make an agreement, but not by my spirit, increasing their sin:

  • 16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he makes it dark, and before your feet are slipping on the dark mountains, and, while you are looking for a light, he makes it into deep dark, into black night.

  • 5 Evil men have no knowledge of what is right; but those who go after the Lord have knowledge of all things.

  • 10 Unequal weights and unequal measures, they are all disgusting to the Lord.

  • 26 For I was looking for good, and evil came; I was waiting for light, and it became dark.

  • 22 And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.

  • 15 He who gives a decision for the evil-doer and he who gives a decision against the upright, are equally disgusting to the Lord.

  • 22 For my people are foolish, they have no knowledge of me; they are evil-minded children, without sense, all of them: they are wise in evil-doing, but have no knowledge of doing good.

  • 27 An evil man is disgusting to the upright, and he who is upright is disgusting to evil-doers.

  • 10 Anyone causing the upright to go wandering in an evil way, will himself go down into the hole he has made; but the upright will have good things for their heritage.

  • 23 But if your eye is evil, all your body will be dark. If then the light which is in you is dark, how dark it will be!