Isaiah 9:16 (DBY)

Passage

For the guides of this people mislead [them]; and they that are guided by them are swallowed up.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:14 And Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day:

Isaiah 9:15 the ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Isaiah 9:16 For the guides of this people mislead [them]; and they that are guided by them are swallowed up.

Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice in their young men, neither will he have mercy on their fatherless and on their widows; for every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burneth as a fire: it devoureth briars and thorns, and kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they go rolling up like a pillar of smoke.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "guides", "people", "mislead", "guided", and "swallowed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "guides" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "the ancient and honourable he is the..." into verse 17's "Therefore the Lord will not rejoice in...", so "guides" 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 "guides" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.