Isaiah 30:9 (ASV)

Passage

For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah;

Nearby Context

Isaiah 30:7 For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still.

Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.

Isaiah 30:9 For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah;

Isaiah 30:10 that say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits,

Isaiah 30:11 get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rebellious", "people", "lying", "children", "hear", and "jehovah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rebellious" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Now go write it before them on..." into verse 10's "that say to the seers See not...", so "rebellious" and "people" 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 "rebellious" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.