Isaiah 1:21

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness once dwelt in her, but now murderers.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֵיכָה֙ הָיְתָ֣ה לְזוֹנָ֔ה קִרְיָ֖ה נֶאֱמָנָ֑ה מְלֵאֲתִ֣י מִשְׁפָּ֗ט צֶ֛דֶק יָלִ֥ין בָּ֖הּ וְעַתָּ֥ה מְרַצְּחִֽים׃

Transliteration

ʾêkâ hāyᵉtâ lᵉzônâ qiryâ neʾĕmānâ mᵉlēʾătî mišpāṭ ṣedeq yālîn bāh wᵉ'attâ mᵉraṣṣᵉḥîm

Grammar Details

• *ʾêkâ*: interrogative adverb - how
• *hāyᵉtâ*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular - has become
• *lᵉzônâ*: preposition lᵉ- + noun, feminine singular - a harlot
• *qiryâ*: noun, feminine singular - city
• *neʾĕmānâ*: adjective, niphal participle, feminine singular - faithful
• *mᵉlēʾătî*: adjective, feminine singular - full of
• *mišpāṭ*: noun, masculine singular - justice
• *ṣedeq*: noun, masculine singular - righteousness
• *yālîn*: verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - would lodge
• *bāh*: preposition bᵉ- + 3rd person feminine singular suffix - in her
• *wᵉ'attâ*: conjunction wə- + adverb - and now
• *mᵉraṣṣᵉḥîm*: piel participle, masculine plural - murderers

Word Meanings

• *ʾêkâ*: how/alas/what a tragedy
• *hāyᵉtâ*: has become/has turned into
• *lᵉzônâ*: a harlot/prostitute
• *qiryâ*: city/town
• *neʾĕmānâ*: faithful/trustworthy/loyal
• *mᵉlēʾătî*: full of/filled with
• *mišpāṭ*: justice/judgment/what is right
• *ṣedeq*: righteousness/justice/rightness
• *yālîn*: would lodge/dwell/remain overnight
• *mᵉraṣṣᵉḥîm*: murderers/assassins/those who kill

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  How the faithful city has become a harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  How is the faithful{H539} city{H7151} become a harlot!{H2181} she that was full{H4392} of justice!{H4941} righteousness{H6664} lodged{H3885} in her, but now murderers.{H7523}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  How is the faithful{H539}{(H8737)} city{H7151} become an harlot{H2181}{(H8802)}! it was full{H4392} of judgment{H4941}; righteousness{H6664} lodged{H3885}{(H8799)} in it; but now murderers{H7523}{(H8764)}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  How happeneth it then that the rightuous citie (which was full of equite) is become vnfaithfull as an whore? rightuousnes dwelt in it, but now murthur.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Howe is the faithfull citie become an harlot? It was full of iudgement, and iustice lodged therein, but now they are murtherers.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Howe happeneth it then that the righteous citie which was full of equitie, is become vnfaythfull as a whore? Righteousnesse dwelt in it, but nowe murtherers.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, But now murderers.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  How hath a faithful city become a harlot? I have filled it `with' judgment, Righteousness lodgeth in it -- now murderers.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  The upright town has become untrue; there was a time when her judges gave right decisions, when righteousness had a resting-place in her, but now she is full of those who take men's lives.

• World English Bible (2000)

  How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Purifying Judgment How tragic that the once-faithful city has become a prostitute! She was once a center of justice, fairness resided in her, but now only murderers.

Referenced Verses

• 2 Sam 8:15 : 15 David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness to all his people.
• 2 Chr 19:9 : 9 He gave them these orders: 'You must act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a whole heart.'
• Neh 11:1 : 1 The leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine stayed in the towns.
• Ps 46:4 : 4 Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake with their surging. Selah.
• Ps 48:1 : 1 A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah.
• Ps 48:8 : 8 With an east wind, You shattered the ships of Tarshish.
• Isa 5:7 : 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are the planting of His delight. He expected justice but saw bloodshed; He expected righteousness but heard cries of distress.
• Isa 48:2 : 2 For they are called from the holy city and rely on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name.
• Isa 57:3-9 : 3 But as for you, come here, you offspring of sorceresses, you children of adulterers and prostitutes! 4 Whom are you mocking? Against whom do you open wide your mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of deceit? 5 You burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; you slaughter children in the valleys, under crags of the cliffs. 6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, indeed, are your lot. To them you have poured out drink offerings and presented grain offerings. Should I relent concerning these things? 7 You have placed your bed on a high and lofty mountain; there you went up to offer sacrifices. 8 Behind your doors and doorposts you have set up your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, climbing into it and opening it wide; you made a pact with them, you loved their beds and gazed on their manhood. 9 You went to the king with oil and increased your perfumes; you sent your envoys far away; you even descended to the realm of the dead.
• Jer 2:20-21 : 20 For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds, but you said, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute. 21 I planted you as a choice vine, from the very best seed. How then have you turned into wild, degenerate branches of a foreign vine for me?
• Jer 3:1 : 1 If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, should he take her back again? Wouldn't such a land become completely defiled? You have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—yet you want to return to me? declares the LORD.
• Lam 1:8-9 : 8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away. 9 Her uncleanness clings to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. "Look, LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."
• Ezek 16:1-9 : 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites—your father was an Amorite and your mother was a Hittite.’ 4 On the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No eye looked on you with pity to do any of these things for you, out of compassion. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, for you were despised on the day you were born. 6 Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay in your blood, I said to you, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and became tall and reached the age of maturity. Your breasts were formed, and your hair grew, but you were still naked and bare. 8 Then I passed by you again and saw you, and behold, you were at the age for love. So I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I made my vow to you, entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. 9 Then I washed you with water and rinsed the blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with embroidered garments, put sandals of fine leather on you, wrapped you in fine linen, and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD. 15 But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your acts of prostitution on every passerby, willing to be his. 16 You took your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them, you committed prostitution. Such things should not have happened, nor should they occur. 17 You also took the fine jewelry made of gold and silver that I had given you, and you made male idols for yourself and engaged in prostitution with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you presented my oil and incense before them. 19 Also, the food I provided for you–the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you–you set before them as a pleasing aroma. And so it was, declares the Lord GOD. 20 You even took the sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to the idols as food. Was your prostitution not enough? 21 You slaughtered my children and offered them up by making them pass through fire to these idols. 22 In all your detestable practices and prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. 23 Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD, after all your wickedness. 24 You built yourselves a mound and made high places at every street corner. 25 At the head of every street, you built your high places. You degraded your beauty by spreading your legs to every passerby and multiplied your acts of prostitution. 26 You engaged in prostitution with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and multiplied your acts of prostitution to anger me. 27 So now I have stretched out my hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct. 28 You prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were never satisfied. Even after prostituting yourself with them, you were not satisfied. 29 You also multiplied your promiscuity in the land of Canaan and even with the Chaldeans, yet even with this, you were not satisfied. 30 ‘How weak is your heart,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘that you do all these things, the actions of a brazen prostitute! 31 When you built your mounds at the head of every road and made your high places in every street, you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 You adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your acts of prostitution. 34 So your prostitution is the opposite of others; you gave payment instead of receiving it, and no one pays you. You are the opposite. 35 Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD. 36 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children you gave to them, 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side, and I will expose your nakedness to them, so they may see all your shame. 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood. I will bring upon you the wrath and jealousy of my judgment. 39 I will deliver you into their hands, and they will tear down your mounds and demolish your high places. They will strip you of your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. 40 They will bring a crowd against you, stone you to death, and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgment on you in the sight of many women. I will bring an end to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay fees to anyone. 42 Then my wrath against you will subside, and my jealousy will turn away from you. I will be calm and no longer angry. 43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will bring your conduct down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your other detestable acts? 44 Everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children. And you are a sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 Your elder sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you. 47 You not only followed their ways and acted according to their detestable practices but in a very short time, you became more depraved than they were in all your ways. 48 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of food, and abundant ease were hers and her daughters', but they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 They became haughty and committed abominations before me; therefore, I removed them as I saw fit. 51 Samaria did not sin as much as you did. You multiplied your abominations more than they did, and your actions have justified your sisters in comparison to all your abominations. 52 Now bear your disgrace as you have judged your sisters. Because your sins were more abominable than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have justified your sisters. 53 But I will restore their captivity—the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your captivity along with theirs. 54 In order that you may bear your disgrace and feel ashamed for all you have done, as you console them. 55 Your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, and Samaria and her daughters, will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 You did not even mention your sister Sodom during the days of your pride, 57 before your own wickedness was exposed, like the time you were taunted by the daughters of Aram and all her neighbors, and by the daughters of the Philistines, who looked down on you from every side. 58 You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations, declares the LORD. 59 For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you as you have done, since you despised the oath by breaking the covenant. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. 63 So that you may remember and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, when I forgive you for all you have done, declares the Lord GOD.
• Ezek 22:1-9 : 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city of bloodshed and confront her with all her abominations? 3 Then say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You city that sheds blood in her midst to bring her time closer, and makes idols to defile herself, 4 You have become guilty because of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you made. You have brought your days near and have come to the end of your years. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands. 5 Those near and those far from you will mock you, you who are defiled in name and full of turmoil. 6 See, the princes of Israel, each one by his own might, have been in you to shed blood. 7 Within you, they have treated father and mother with contempt; they have oppressed the foreigner in your midst; they have wronged the orphan and the widow. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 The men in you who slander for the purpose of shedding blood eat at the high places; they commit lewdness in your midst. 10 In you, they have dishonored their fathers' nakedness; they have violated women during their impurity. 11 One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife, another defiles his daughter-in-law with wickedness, and another violates his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In you, they accept bribes to shed blood; they take interest and increase unlawfully. You have gained profit in extorting your neighbors, and you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD. 13 See, I will strike my hands together in anger at the dishonest gain you have made and the bloodshed that has been done in your midst. 14 Will your heart stand firm? Will your hands be strong when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you throughout the lands, and I will cleanse you from your impurity. 16 You will be profaned in yourself before the eyes of the nations, and you will know that I am the LORD. 17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead inside a furnace—they are the dross of silver. 19 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because all of you have become dross, I am going to gather you into Jerusalem. 20 Just as silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with fire, so I will gather you in my anger and wrath, and I will deposit you there and melt you. 21 I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath upon you. 23 The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
• Mic 3:2-3 : 2 You who hate good and love evil; you tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones. 3 You eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot, like flesh in a cauldron.
• Zeph 3:1-3 : 1 Woe to the rebellious and defiled city, the oppressive one! 2 She listens to no voice, she accepts no discipline; she does not trust in the LORD, nor does she draw near to her God. 3 Her officials are roaring lions in her midst; her judges are wolves of the evening, leaving nothing for the morning.
• Zech 8:3 : 3 This is what the LORD says: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.
• Luke 13:34 : 34 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
• Acts 7:52 : 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have betrayed and murdered him—
• Heb 12:22 : 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
• Rev 11:2 : 2 But exclude the outer court of the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.
• Rev 11:8 : 8 Their bodies will lie in the main street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.