Isaiah 9:16 (KJV)

Passage

For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, 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 leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "leaders", "people", "cause", and "destroyed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "leaders" 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 shall have no joy...", so "leaders" 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 "leaders" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.