Isaiah 1:4 (DBY)

Passage

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that corrupt themselves! They have forsaken Jehovah; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they are turned away backward.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:2 Hear, [ye] heavens, and give ear, [thou] earth! for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children; and they have rebelled against me.

Isaiah 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; Israel doth not know, my people hath no intelligence.

Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that corrupt themselves! They have forsaken Jehovah; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they are turned away backward.

Isaiah 1:5 Why should ye be smitten any more? ye will 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 him; wounds, and weals, and open sores: they have not been dressed, nor bound up, nor mollified with oil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sinful", "nation", "people", "laden", "iniquity", "seed", "evildoers", and "children". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sinful" and "nation", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "The ox knoweth his owner and the..." into verse 5's "Why should ye be smitten any more...", so "sinful" and "nation" 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 "sinful" and "nation" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.