Isaiah 1:5 (ASV)

Passage

Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master`s crib; [but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged [and gone] backward.

Isaiah 1:5 Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.

Isaiah 1:7 Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "still", "stricken", "revolt", "whole", "head", "sick", and "heart". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "still" and "stricken", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Ah sinful nation a people laden with..." into verse 6's "From the sole of the foot even...", so "still" and "stricken" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "still" and "stricken" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.