Isaiah 9:17 (YLT)

Passage

Therefore, over its young men the Lord rejoiceth not, And its orphans, and its widows He pitieth not, For every one <FI>is<Fi> profane, and an evil doer, And every mouth is speaking folly. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:15 Elder, and accepted of face, he <FI>is<Fi> the head, Prophet, teacher of falsehood, he <FI>is<Fi> the tail.

Isaiah 9:16 And the eulogists of this people are causing to err, And its eulogised ones are consumed.

Isaiah 9:17 Therefore, over its young men the Lord rejoiceth not, And its orphans, and its widows He pitieth not, For every one <FI>is<Fi> profane, and an evil doer, And every mouth is speaking folly. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out.

Isaiah 9:18 For burned as a fire hath wickedness, Brier and thorn it devoureth, And it kindleth in thickets of the forest, And they lift themselves up, an exaltation of smoke!

Isaiah 9:19 In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts Hath the land been consumed, And the people is as fuel of fire; A man on his brother hath no pity,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "over", "young", "lord", "rejoiceth", "orphans", "widows", and "pitieth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "over", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And the eulogists of this people are..." into verse 18's "For burned as a fire hath wickedness...", so "therefore" and "over" 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 "therefore" and "over" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.