Isaiah 1:4 (LSB)

Passage

Alas, sinful nation, People heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh; They have spurned the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged from Him.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; For Yahweh speaks, “Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me.

Isaiah 1:3 An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know; My people do not perceive.”

Isaiah 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, People heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh; They have spurned the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged from Him.

Isaiah 1:5 Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint.

Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds, Not pressed out, not bandaged, Not softened with oil.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "An ox knows its owner And a..." into verse 5's "Where will you be stricken again As...", so "alas" and "sinful" 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 "alas" and "sinful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.