Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Learn	לִמְד֥וּ lim.Du	H3925	properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
well	הֵיטֵ֛ב hei.Tev	H3190	to be (causative) make well · verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
seek	דִּרְשׁ֥וּ dir.Shu	H1875	properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
judgment	מִשְׁפָּ֖ט mish.Pat	H4941	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
relieve	אַשְּׁר֣וּ 'a.she.Ru	H833	to be straight (used in the widest sense · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
oppressed	חָמ֑וֹץ cha.Motz	H2541	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
judge	שִׁפְט֣וּ shif.Tu	H8199	to judge · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
fatherless	יָת֔וֹם ya.Tom	H3490	a bereaved person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
plead	רִ֖יבוּ Ri.vu	H7378	properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
widow	אַלְמָנָֽה 'al.ma.Nah	H490	a widow · noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly wi…
Jeremiah 22:3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no…
Psalms 82:3-4 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Proverbs 31:9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Isaiah 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, n…
Zechariah 7:9-10 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
Jeremiah 22:15-16 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well…
Daniel 4:27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:16-20

Though God had rejected their services as insufficient to atone for their sins while they persisted in them, yet he does not reject them as in a hopeless condition, but here calls upon them to forsake their sins, which hindered the acceptance of their services, and then all would be well. Let them not say that God picked quarrels with them; no, he proposes a method of reconciliation. Observe here, I. A call to repentance and reformation: "If you would have your sacrifices accepted, and your prayers answered, you must begin your work at the right end: Be converted to my law" (so the Chaldee begins this exhortation), "make conscience of second-table duties, else expect not to be accepted in th…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 1:17

seek judgment--justice, as magistrates, instead of seeking bribes (Jer 22:3, Jer 22:16). judge--vindicate (Psa 68:5; Jam 1:27).

John Gill on Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do well,.... Which men are naturally ignorant of; to do good they have no knowledge; nor can they that are accustomed to do evil learn to do well of themselves; but the Lord can teach them to profit, and of him they should ask wisdom, and desire, under the influence of his grace, to learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, and particularly to do acts of beneficence to all men, and especially to the household of faith; and also, the following ones, seek judgment; seek to do justice between man and man in any cause depending, without respect of persons: relieve the oppressed; the poor that are oppressed by their neighbours that are richer and mightier than they, right their…

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John Calvin on Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do well As he had just now, ill enjoining them to cease to do evil, charged them with the continual practice of iniquity as if he had said that their whole life was a constant habit of sinning; so now he enjoins them to become skilled in acts of kindness, and in entreating them to learn this, he addresses them as scholars who had not yet learned their earliest lessons. And first he bids them seek judgment. Others render it, inquire respecting judgment, of which I do not approve; for by the word seek the Prophet meant more than this, he meant what we call the actual practice of it. By the word judgment he denotes what is good and right; as if he had said, "Aim at uprightness." Relie…

The Church Fathers

If you must visit someone, prefer to pay honor to orphans, widows and those in want rather than those who enjoy reputation and fame.
— John Chrysostom, BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 6:12

God offers a brief summary through the prophet Isaiah of the honor that widows enjoy in the sight of God.… The Father defends these two types of people [widows and orphans] through divine mercy in proportion to their being destitute of human aid. Look how the widow's benefactor is put on a level with the widow herself, whose champion shall "reason with the Lord."
— Tertullian, TO HIS WIFE 8

Let us labor earnestly then to become clean; He has enjoined nothing burdensome. "Judge the fatherless, and do justice for the widow." Thou seest everywhere how great account God makes of mercy, and of standing forward in behalf of those that are wronged. These good deeds let us pursue after, and we shall be able also, by the grace of God, to attain to the blessings to come.
— John Chrysostom, ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12:4

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah, The Book of — Consists of prophecies delivered (Isa. 1) in the reign of Uzziah (1-5), (2) of Jotham (6), (3) Ahaz (7-14:28), (4) the first half of Hezekiah’s reign (14:28-35), (5) the second half of Hezekiah’s…
Courts Of Justice · The accused: Might have advocates — The accused: Might have advocates
Fatherless · Defend — Defend
Justice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Oppression · 23:15,16;24:14,15; — 23:15,16;24:14,15;
Ordinance · INSUFFICIENCY OF, FOR SALVATION — INSUFFICIENCY OF, FOR SALVATION
Orphan · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · DUTY TO — DUTY TO
Repentance · Should be evidenced by fruits — Should be evidenced by fruits
Reward · 8:33; — 8:33;
Widow · 10:18;14:28,29;16:11-14;24:17,19-21;25:5-10;27:19; — 10:18;14:28,29;16:11-14;24:17,19-21;25:5-10;27:19;
Widows · Should be: Pleaded for — Should be: Pleaded for

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 1:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:16-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 1:17

John Gill on Isaiah 1:17

John Calvin on Isaiah 1:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 1:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:16-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 1:17

John Gill on Isaiah 1:17

John Calvin on Isaiah 1:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 1:17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 1:17

Rashi on Isaiah 1:17