Barnes' Notes on Isaiah 59:8

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Notes on the Whole Bible
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

The way of peace they know not - The phrase ‘way of peace’ may denote either peace of conscience, peace with God, peace among themselves, or peace with their fellow-men. Possibly it may refer to all these; and the sense will be, that in their whole lives they were strangers to true contentment and happiness. From no quarter had they peace, but whether in relation to God, to their own consciences, to each other, or to their fellow-men, they were involved in continual strife and agitation (see the notes at Isaiah 57:20-21). And there is no judgment in their goings - Margin, ‘Right.’ The sense is, that there was no justice in their dealings. there was no disposition to do right. They were full of selfishness, falsehood, oppression, and cruelty. They have made them crooked paths - A crooked path is an emblem of dishonesty, fraud, deceit. A straight path is an emblem of sincerity, truth, honesty, and uprightness (see Psalms 125:5; Proverbs 2:15; and the notes at Isaiah 40:4). The idea is, that their counsels and plans were perverse and evil. We have a similar expression now when we say of a man that he is ‘straightforward,’ meaning that he is an honest man. return to 'Top of Page'

Read Isaiah 59:8 →Read the full chapter →John Gill's Exposition →Jamieson, Fausset & Brown →Wesley's Explanatory Notes →Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge →Keil & Delitzsch →

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