Isaiah 1:21 (WEB)

Passage

How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

Isaiah 1:20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”

Isaiah 1:21 How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

Isaiah 1:22 Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.

Isaiah 1:23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don’t judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "faithful", "city", "become", "prostitute", "full", "justice", and "righteousness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "faithful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "but if you refuse and rebel you..." into verse 22's "Your silver has become dross your wine...", so "faith" and "faithful" 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 "faith" and "faithful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.