Isaiah 1:21 (YLT)

Passage

How hath a faithful city become a harlot? I have filled it <FI>with<Fi> judgment, Righteousness lodgeth in it--now murderers.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:19 If ye are willing, and have hearkened, The good of the land ye consume,

Isaiah 1:20 And if ye refuse, and have rebelled, <FI>By<Fi> the sword ye are consumed, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.

Isaiah 1:21 How hath a faithful city become a harlot? I have filled it <FI>with<Fi> judgment, Righteousness lodgeth in it--now murderers.

Isaiah 1:22 Thy silver hath become dross, Thy drink polluted with water.

Isaiah 1:23 Thy princes <FI>are<Fi> apostates, and companions of thieves, Every one loving a bribe, and pursuing rewards, The fatherless they judge not, And the plea of the widow cometh not to them.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And if ye refuse and have rebelled..." into verse 22's "Thy silver hath become dross Thy drink...", so "faith" and "hath" 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 "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.