Isaiah 9:16 (WEB)

Passage

For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.

Isaiah 9:15 The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.

Isaiah 9:16 For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed.

Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "The elder and the honorable man is..." into verse 17's "Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over...", so "lead" 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 "lead" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.