Isaiah 1:21

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.

📖 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

Referenced Verses

• 2 Sam 8:15 : 15 And David reigneth over all Israel, and David is doing judgment and righteousness to all his people,
• 2 Chr 19:9 : 9 and he layeth a charge upon them, saying, `Thus do ye do in the fear of Jehovah, in faithfulness, and with a perfect heart,
• Neh 11:1 : 1 And the heads of the people dwell in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people have caused to fall lots to bring in one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the cities,
• Ps 46:4 : 4 A river -- its rivulets rejoice the city of God, Thy holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
• Ps 48:1 : 1 A Song, a Psalm, by sons of Korah. Great `is' Jehovah, and praised greatly, In the city of our God -- His holy hill.
• Ps 48:8 : 8 As we have heard, so we have seen, In the city of Jehovah of hosts, In the city of our God, God doth establish her -- to the age. Selah.
• Isa 5:7 : 7 Because the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts `Is' the house of Israel, And the man of Judah His pleasant plant, And He waiteth for judgment, and lo, oppression, For righteousness, and lo, a cry.
• Isa 48:2 : 2 For from the Holy City they have been called, And on the God of Israel been supported, Jehovah of Hosts `is' His name.
• Isa 57:3-9 : 3 And ye, come near hither, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even thou dost commit whoredom. 4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? Against whom enlarge ye the mouth? Prolong ye the tongue? Are not ye children of transgression? a false seed? 5 Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks. 6 Among the smooth things of a brook `is' thy portion, They -- they `are' thy lot, Also to them thou hast poured out an oblation, Thou hast caused a present to ascend, For these things am I comforted? 7 On a mountain, high and exalted, Thou hast set thy couch, Also thither thou hast gone up to make a sacrifice. 8 And behind the door, and the post, Thou hast set up thy memorial, For from Me thou hast removed, and goest up, Thou hast enlarged thy couch, And dost covenant for thyself among them, Thou hast loved their couch, the station thou sawest, 9 And goest joyfully to the king in ointment, And dost multiply thy perfumes, And sendest thine ambassadors afar off, And humblest thyself unto Sheol.
• Jer 2:20-21 : 20 For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, `I do not serve,' For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering -- a harlot. 21 And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?
• Jer 3:1 : 1 Saying, `Lo, one sendeth away his wife, And she hath gone from him, And she hath been to another man, Doth he turn back unto her again? Greatly defiled is not that land? And thou hast committed whoredom with many lovers, And turn again to Me, an affirmation of Jehovah.
• Lam 1:8-9 : 8 A sin hath Jerusalem sinned, Therefore impure she hath become, All who honoured her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Yea, she herself hath sighed and turneth backward. 9 Her uncleanness `is' in her skirts, She hath not remembered her latter end, And she cometh down wonderfully, There is no comforter for her. See, O Jehovah, mine affliction, For exerted himself hath an enemy.
• Ezek 16:1-9 : 1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2 `Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and thou hast said: 3 Thus said the Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity `Are' of the land of the Canaanite, Thy father the Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. 4 As to thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, Thou -- thy navel hath not been cut, And in water thou wast not washed for ease, And thou hast not been salted at all, And thou hast not been swaddled at all. 5 No eye hath had pity on thee, to do to thee any of these, To have compassion on thee, And thou art cast on the face of the field, With loathing of thy person. In the day thou hast been born -- thou! 6 And I do pass over by thee, And I see thee trodden down in thy blood, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live. 7 A myriad -- as the shoot of the field I have made thee, And thou art multiplied, and art great, And comest in with an excellent adornment, Breasts have been formed, and thy hair hath grown -- And thou, naked and bare! 8 And I pass over by thee, and I see thee, And lo, thy time `is' a time of loves, And I spread My skirt over thee, And I cover thy nakedness, And I swear to thee, and come in to a covenant with thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And thou dost become Mine. 9 And I do wash thee with water, And I wash away thy blood from off thee, And I anoint thee with perfume. 10 And I clothe thee with embroidery, And I shoe thee with badger's skin, And I gird thee with fine linen, And I cover thee with figured silk. 11 And I adorn thee with adornments, And I give bracelets for thy hands, And a chain for thy neck. 12 And I give a ring for thy nose, And rings for thine ears, And a crown of beauty on thy head. 13 And thou dost put on gold and silver, And thy clothing `is' fine linen, And figured silk and embroidery, Fine flour, and honey, and oil thou hast eaten, And thou art very very beautiful, And dost go prosperously to the kingdom. 14 And go forth doth thy name among nations, Because of thy beauty -- for it `is' complete, In My honour that I have set upon thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 15 And thou dost trust in thy beauty, And goest a-whoring because of thy renown, And dost pour out thy whoredoms On every passer by -- to him it is. 16 And thou dost take of thy garments, And dost make to thee spotted high-places, And dost go a-whoring upon them, They are not coming in -- nor shall it be! 17 And thou dost take thy beauteous vessels Of My gold and My silver that I gave to thee, And dost make to thee images of a male, And dost go a-whoring with them, 18 And dost take the garments of thy embroidery, And thou dost cover them, And My oil and My perfume thou hast set before them. 19 And My bread, that I gave to thee, Fine flour, and oil, and honey, that I caused thee to eat. Thou hast even set it before them, For a sweet fragrance -- thus it is, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 20 And thou dost take thy sons and thy daughters Whom thou hast born to Me, And dost sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of thy whoredoms, 21 That thou dost slaughter My sons, And dost give them up in causing them to pass over to them? 22 And with all thine abominations and thy whoredoms, Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, When thou wast naked and bare, Trodden down in thy blood thou wast! 23 And it cometh to pass, after all thy wickedness, (Wo, wo, to thee -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah), 24 That thou dost build to thee an arch, And dost make to thee a high place in every broad place. 25 At every head of the way thou hast built thy high place, And thou dost make thy beauty abominable, And dost open wide thy feet to every passer by, And dost multiply thy whoredoms, 26 And dost go a-whoring unto sons of Egypt, Thy neighbours -- great of appetite! And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms, To provoke Me to anger. 27 And lo, I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I diminish thy portion, And give thee to the desire of those hating thee, The daughters of the Philistines, Who are ashamed of thy wicked way. 28 And thou goest a-whoring unto sons of Asshur, Without thy being satisfied, And thou dost go a-whoring with them, And also -- thou hast not been satisfied. 29 And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms On the land of Canaan -- toward Chaldea, And even with this thou hast not been satisfied. 30 How weak `is' thy heart, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In thy doing all these, The work of a domineering whorish woman. 31 In thy building thine arch at the head of every way, Thy high place thou hast made in every broad place, And -- hast not been as a whore deriding a gift. 32 The wife who committeth adultery -- Under her husband -- doth receive strangers. 33 To all whores they give a gift, And -- thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, And dost bribe them to come in unto thee, From round about -- in thy whoredoms. 34 And the contrary is in thee from women in thy whoredoms, That after thee none doth go a-whoring; And in thy giving a gift, And a gift hath not been given to thee; And thou art become contrary. 35 Therefore, O whore, hear a word of Jehovah, 36 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy brass being poured forth, And thy nakedness is revealed in thy whoredoms near thy lovers, And near all the idols of thy abominations, And according to the blood of thy sons, Whom thou hast given to them; 37 Therefore, lo, I am assembling all thy lovers, To whom thou hast been sweet, And all whom thou hast loved, Besides all whom thou hast hated; And I have assembled them by thee round about, And have revealed thy nakedness to them, And they have seen all thy nakedness. 38 And I have judged thee -- judgments of adultresses, And of women shedding blood, And have given thee blood, fury, and jealousy. 39 And I have given thee into their hand, And they have thrown down thine arch, And they have broken down thy high places, And they have stript thee of thy garments, And they have taken thy beauteous vessels, And they have left thee naked and bare. 40 And have caused an assembly to come up against thee, And stoned thee with stones, And thrust thee through with their swords, 41 And burnt thy houses with fire, And done in thee judgments before the eyes of many women, And I have caused thee to cease from going a-whoring, And also a gift thou givest no more. 42 And I have caused My fury against thee to rest, And My jealousy hath turned aside from thee, And I have been quiet, and I am not angry any more. 43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, And dost give trouble to Me in all these, Lo, even I also thy way at first gave up, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I did not this thought for all thine abominations. 44 Lo, every one using a simile, Doth use a simile concerning thee, saying: As the mother -- her daughter! 45 Thy mother's daughter thou `art', Loathing her husband and her sons, And thy sisters' sister thou `art', Who loathed their husbands and their sons, Your mother `is' a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 And thine elder sister `is' Samaria, she and her daughters, Who is dwelling at thy left hand, And thy younger sister, who is dwelling on thy right hand, `is' Sodom and her daughters. 47 And -- in their ways thou hast not walked, And according to their abominations done, As a little thing it hath been loathed, And thou dost more corruptly than they in all thy ways. 48 I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done -- she and her daughters -- As thou hast done -- thou and thy daughters. 49 Lo, this hath been the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Arrogancy, fulness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She hath not strengthened. 50 And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen. 51 As to Samaria, as the half of thy sins -- she hath not sinned, And thou dost multiply thine abominations more than they, And dost justify thy sisters by all thy abominations that thou hast done. 52 Thou also -- bear thy shame, That thou hast adjudged to thy sisters, Because of thy sins that thou hast done more abominably than they, They are more righteous than thou, And thou, also, be ashamed and bear thy shame, In thy justifying thy sisters. 53 And I have turned back `to' their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of thy captives in their midst, 54 So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them. 55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state. 56 And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy, 57 Before thy wickedness is revealed, As `at' the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbours, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising thee round about. 58 Thy devices and thine abominations, Thou hast borne them, an affirmation of Jehovah. 59 For thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have dealt with thee as thou hast done, In that thou hast despised an oath -- to break covenant. 60 And I -- I have remembered My covenant with thee, In the days of thy youth, And I have established for thee a covenant age-during. 61 And thou hast remembered thy ways, And thou hast been ashamed, In thy receiving thy sisters -- Thine elder with thy younger, And I have given them to thee for daughters, And not by thy covenant. 62 And I -- I have established My covenant with thee, And thou hast known that I `am' Jehovah. 63 So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
• Ezek 22:1-9 : 1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2 `And thou, son of man, dost thou judge? dost thou judge the city of blood? then thou hast caused it to know all its abominations, 3 and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city is shedding blood in its midst, For the coming in of its time, And it hath made idols on it for defilement. 4 By thy blood that thou hast shed thou hast been guilty, And by thine idols that thou hast made thou hast been defiled, And thou causest thy days to draw near, And art come in unto thine years, Therefore I have given thee a reproach to nations, And a derision to all the lands. 5 The near and the far-off from thee scoff at thee, O defiled of name -- abounding in trouble. 6 Lo, princes of Israel -- each according to his arm Have been in thee to shed blood. 7 Father and mother made light of in thee, To a sojourner they dealt oppressively in thy midst, Fatherless and widow they oppressed in thee. 8 My holy things thou hast despised, And My sabbaths thou hast polluted. 9 Men of slander have been in thee to shed blood, And on the mountains they have eaten in thee, Wickedness they have done in thy midst. 10 The nakedness of a father hath one uncovered in thee, The defiled of impurity they humbled in thee. 11 And each with the wife of his neighbour hath done abomination, And each his daughter-in-law hath defiled through wickedness, And each his sister, his father's daughter, hath humbled in thee. 12 A bribe they have taken in thee to shed blood, Usury and increase thou hast taken, And cuttest off thy neighbour by oppression, And Me thou hast forgotten, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah! 13 And lo, I have smitten My hand, Because of thy dishonest gain that thou hast gained, And for thy blood that hath been in thy midst. 14 Doth thy heart stand -- are thy hands strong, For the days that I am dealing with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken and have done `it'. 15 And I have scattered thee among nations, And have spread thee out among lands, And consumed thy uncleanness out of thee. 16 And thou hast been polluted in thyself Before the eyes of nations, And thou hast known that I `am' Jehovah.' 17 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, `Son of man, 18 The house of Israel hath been to Me for dross, All of them `are' brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, In the midst of a furnace -- dross hath silver been, 19 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your all becoming dross, Therefore, lo, I am gathering you unto the midst of Jerusalem, 20 A gathering of silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, Unto the midst of a furnace -- to blow on it fire, to melt it, So do I gather in Mine anger and in My fury, And I have let rest, and have melted you. 21 And I have heaped you up, And blown on you in the fire of My wrath, And ye have been melted in its midst. 22 As the melting of silver in the midst of a furnace, So are ye melted in its midst, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, I have poured out My fury upon you.' 23 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
• Hos 11:12 : 12 Compassed Me with feigning hath Ephraim, And with deceit the house of Israel. And Judah again is ruling with God, And with the Holy Ones `is' faithful!
• Mic 3:2-3 : 2 Ye who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones, 3 And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stript, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread `them' out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a caldron.
• Zeph 3:1-3 : 1 Wo `to' the rebellious and polluted, The oppressing city! 2 She hath not hearkened to the voice, She hath not accepted instruction, In Jehovah she hath not trusted, Unto her God she hath not drawn near. 3 Her heads in her midst `are' roaring lions, Her judges `are' evening wolves, They have not gnawn the bone in the morning.
• Zech 8:3 : 3 Thus said Jehovah: I have turned back unto Zion, And I have dwelt in the midst of Jerusalem, And Jerusalem hath been called `The city of truth,' And the mountain of Jehovah of Hosts, `The holy mountain.'
• Luke 13:34 : 34 `Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto her, how often did I will to gather together thy children, as a hen her brood under the wings, and ye did not will.
• Acts 7:52 : 52 which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed those who declared before about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom now ye betrayers and murderers have become,
• Heb 12:22 : 22 But, ye came to Mount Zion, and to a city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of messengers,
• Rev 11:2 : 2 and the court that is without the sanctuary leave out, and thou mayest not measure it, because it was given to the nations, and the holy city they shall tread down forty-two months;
• Rev 11:8 : 8 and their dead bodies `are' upon the broad-place of the great city (that is called spiritually Sodom, and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,)