Isaiah 1:6

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
sole	מִכַּף mi.kaf-	H3709	the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
foot	רֶ֤גֶל Re.gel	H7272	a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
head	רֹאשׁ֙ roSh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
soundness	מְתֹ֔ם me.Tom	H4974	wholesomeness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
wounds	פֶּ֥צַע Pe.tza'	H6482	a wound · noun, common masculine singular absolute
bruises	וְחַבּוּרָ֖ה ve.cha.bu.Rah	H2250	properly · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
putrifying	טְרִיָּ֑ה te.ri.Yah	H2961	properly · adjective, feminine singular absolute
sores	וּמַכָּ֣ה u.ma.Kah	H4347	a wound · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
closed	זֹ֙רוּ֙ zo.ru	H2115	to press together · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person common plural
up	חֻבָּ֔שׁוּ chu.Ba.shu	H2280	to wrap firmly (especially a turban · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person common plural
mollified	רֻכְּכָ֖ה ru.ke.Khah	H7401	to soften (intransitively or transitively) · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
ointment	בַּשָּֽׁמֶן ba.Sha.men	H8081	grease · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine 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

Jeremiah 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jeremiah 33:6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
Matthew 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Job 5:18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
Psalms 38:3-5 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
Psalms 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves…
Luke 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:2-9

We will hope to meet with a brighter and more pleasant scene before we come to the end of this book; but truly here, in the beginning of it, every thing looks very bad, very black, with Judah and Jerusalem. What is the wilderness of the world, if the church, the vineyard, has such a dismal aspect as this? I. The prophet, though he speaks in God's name, yet, despairing to gain audience with the children of his people, addresses himself to the heavens and the earth, and bespeaks their attention (Isa 1:2): Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth! Sooner will the inanimate creatures hear, who observe the law and answer the end of their creation, than this stupid senseless people. Let the lights o…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 1:6

From the lowest to the highest of the people; "the ancient and honorable, the head, the prophet that teacheth lies, the tail." See Isa 9:13-16. He first states their wretched condition, obvious to all (Isa 1:6-9); and then, not previously, their irreligious state, the cause of it. wounds--judicially inflicted (Hos 5:13). mollified with ointment--The art of medicine in the East consists chiefly in external applications (Luk 10:34; Jam 5:14).

John Gill on Isaiah 1:6

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it,.... Every member of the body politic was afflicted in one way or another, or sadly infected with the disease of sin; see Psalm 28:3. So the Targum, "from the rest of the people, even unto the princes, there is none among them who is perfect in my fear;'' see Daniel 9:8. but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; to which either public calamities on a city or nation may be compared, Hosea 5:13 or the sins and transgressions both of single persons, and of whole bodies of men, Psalm 38:5. The Targum is, "they are all stubborn and rebellious, they are defiled with sins as an ulcerous plaster.'' They have not been…

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John Calvin on Isaiah 1:6

The Church Fathers

You see now how the rebuilding of Jerusalem takes place: the broken heart is mended.… You wound your heart, and the Lord binds your wounds.… It refers to those who are penitent, but of the unrepentant, Scripture says, their wounds "are not drained or bandaged or eased with salve."
— Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 56 (PSALM 146)

Isaiah teaches that there are certain wounds of the soul.… Without doubt, he is speaking about the transgressions of the people, because there are some to whom the medicine of the poultice must still be applied. Others may be sinners in such a degree that no cure can be found for them.
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 8:5.5

They had nothing to pour. If they had had any oil, they would have poured it on their own wounds. Isaiah cries, "They cannot apply ointment or oil or bandage." But the church has oil, with which it tends the wounds of its children, that the wound may not harden and spread deep. [The church] has oil which it has received secretly.
— Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 41 (EX 1).19-20

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

Anoint — The practice of anointing with perfumed oil was common among the Hebrews. (1.) The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest…
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…
Oil — Only olive oil seems to have been used among the Hebrews. It was used for many purposes: for anointing the body or the hair (Ex. 29:7; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 23:5; 92:10; 104:15; Luke 7:46); in some of the…
Ointment — Various fragrant preparations, also compounds for medical purposes, are so called (Ex. 30:25; Ps. 133:2; Isa. 1:6; Amos 6:6; John 12:3; Rev. 18:13).
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Anointing · Of the sick — Of the sick
Depravity Of Man · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Disease · .Ointments — .Ointments
Diseases · Mentioned in scripture: Ulcers — Mentioned in scripture: Ulcers
Head · The uppermost and chief member of the body — The uppermost and chief member of the body
Medicine · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Oil · Described as: Healing

Isaiah 1:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:2-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 1:6

John Gill on Isaiah 1:6

John Calvin on Isaiah 1:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 1:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:2-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 1:6

John Gill on Isaiah 1:6

John Calvin on Isaiah 1:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 1:6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 1:6

Rashi on Isaiah 1:6