Isaiah Chapter 59 · Verse 3
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
Original Language Analysis
כִּ֤י
H3588
כִּ֤י
Strong's:
H3588
Word #:
1 of 12
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
כַפֵּיכֶם֙
For your hands
H3709
כַפֵּיכֶם֙
For your hands
Strong's:
H3709
Word #:
2 of 12
the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal, of the sole, and even of the bowl of a dish or sling, the handle of a bolt, the leaves of a palm-
בַדָּ֔ם
with blood
H1818
בַדָּ֔ם
with blood
Strong's:
H1818
Word #:
4 of 12
blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of the grape; figuratively (especially in the plural) bloodshe
וְאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם
and your fingers
H676
וְאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם
and your fingers
Strong's:
H676
Word #:
5 of 12
something to sieze with, i.e., a finger; by analogy, a toe
שִׂפְתֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙
your lips
H8193
שִׂפְתֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙
your lips
Strong's:
H8193
Word #:
7 of 12
the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.)
דִּבְּרוּ
have spoken
H1696
דִּבְּרוּ
have spoken
Strong's:
H1696
Word #:
8 of 12
perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
Cross References
Isaiah 1:15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.Ezekiel 13:8Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.Jeremiah 2:34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.Isaiah 1:21How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.Jeremiah 2:30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.Jeremiah 7:8Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.Ezekiel 35:6Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.Ezekiel 7:23Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.Ezekiel 9:9Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.Hosea 7:13Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.
Historical Context
This echoes the indictment in 1:15 - 'your hands are full of blood.' Violence and dishonesty characterized Israel's society from leadership to common life.
Questions for Reflection
- How do actions and speech together reveal the heart's condition?
- What areas of 'hands' (actions) and 'lips' (words) need cleansing in your life?
Analysis & Commentary
The sin catalog begins: 'For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.' Hands (actions), lips and tongue (speech) - the whole person is implicated. The Hebrew 'ga'al' (defiled) means polluted, stained.