From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven’t been closed, bandaged, or soothed with oil.
Parallel Translations
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From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven’t been closed, bandaged, or soothed with oil.
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From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
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From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and festering sores: they have not been pressed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Isaiah 1:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of my people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.
- Jeremiah 33:6 ‘Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth.
- Matthew 9:12 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.
- Job 5:18 For he wounds and binds up. He injures and his hands make whole.
- Psalms 38:3-5 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness.
- Psalms 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn’t get tired. My soul refused to be comforted.
- Jeremiah 8:21-22 For the hurt of the daughter of my people, I am hurt. I mourn. Dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
- Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall.
- Luke 10:34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
- 2 Chronicles 6:28-29 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who will each know his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread out his hands toward this house;
- Job 2:7-8 So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
- Jeremiah 30:12 For Yahweh says, “Your hurt is incurable. Your wound is grievous.
- Hosea 5:12-13 Therefore I am to Ephraim like a moth, and to the house of Judah like rottenness. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
- Nahum 3:19 There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you; for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?
- Luke 16:20-21 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Every part of the body as well the least…
Every part of the body as well the least as the chiefest, was plagued.
Their plagues were so grievous, that they were incurable, and yet they would not repent.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even…
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Ver. 6. From the sole of the foot.] Totum est pro vulnere corpus, The whole body politic was deadly diseased, and it was our prophet’s unhappiness to be the physician to a dying state; Tunc etenim docta plus valet arte malum.
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There is no soundness.] Nec sanitas in corpore, nec sanctitas in corde. Heu, heu, Domine Deus. Neither soundness in body nor soundness in heart, Alas, alas oh God, God.
But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores.] And those also such as would not be cured, but called for cutting off. Immedicabile vulnus ense recidendum est.
They have not been closed.] Neither will be. Non est malagma imponere, say the Septuagint here. You will not endure to have them searched or suppled: what hope therefore of healing? If the Sun of righteousness shall shine upon us with healing under his wings, we must repent and believe the gospel. {Mar 1:15}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain From the sole of the foot even unto the…
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; you have been all of you punished, from the highest to the lowest, from the worst to the best.
They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment; I have suffered you to lie under your maladies for a time, without applying any remedies, to try whether the length and continuance of your affliction might not work that cure which the strength of it could not do, but all in vain.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain From the sole of the foot even unto the…
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it,.... Every member of the body politic was afflicted in one way or another, or sadly infected with the disease of sin; see Psa 28:3. So the Targum,
"from the rest of the people, even unto the princes, there is none among them who is perfect in my fear;''
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see Dan 9:8.
but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; to which either public calamities on a city or nation may be compared, Hos 5:13 or the sins and transgressions both of single persons, and of whole bodies of men, Psa 38:5. The Targum is,
"they are all stubborn and rebellious, they are defiled with sins as an ulcerous plaster.''
They have not been closed; that is, the wounds and sores have not been healed; or "they have not been pressed" or "squeezed" (c), in order to get the purulent matter out of them:
neither bound up; with bands, after the matter is squeezed out, and a plaster laid on:
neither mollified with ointment; which is used for the supplying and healing of wounds; see Luk 10:34. The sense either is, that they were not reformed by their afflictions; or that they did not repent of their sins, nor seek to God for healing and pardon, nor make use of any means for their more healthful state and condition. The Targum paraphrases the words thus,
"they do not leave their haughtinesses, nor are they desirous of repentance, nor have they any righteousness to protect them.''
(c) "non expessa fuere a" "exprimere humorem, hoc significari clarum est ex" Jud. vi. 38. Gusset. Comment. Ling. Ebr. p. 227. So Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. They have not been closed, c. -…
Verse 6. They have not been closed, c. - "It hath not been pressed," c.] The pharmaceutical art in the East consists chiefly in external applications: accordingly the prophet's images in this place are all taken from surgery. Sir John Chardin, in his note on Pr 3:8, "It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones," observes that "the comparison is taken from the plasters, ointments, oils, and frictions, which are made use of in the East upon the belly and stomach in most maladies. Being ignorant in the villages of the art of making decoctions and potions, and of the proper doses of such things, they generally make use of external medicines." - Harmer's Observations on Scripture, vol. ii. p. 488. And in surgery their materia medica is extremely simple, oil making the principal part of it. "In India," says Tavernier, "they have a certain preparation of oil and melted grease, which they commonly use for the healing of wounds." Voyage Ind. So the good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds of the distressed Jew: wine, cleansing and somewhat astringent, proper for a fresh wound oil, mollifying and healing, Lu 10:34. Kimchi has a judicious remark here: "When various medicines are applied, and no healing takes place, that disorder is considered as coming immediately from God."
Of the three verbs in this sentence, one is in the singular number in the text another is singular in two MSS., (one of them ancient,) חבשה chubbeshah; and the Syriac and Vulgate render all of them in the singular number.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain From the sole of the foot ... - Or…
From the sole of the foot ... - Or is we say, ‘from head to foot,’ that is, in every part of the body. There may be included also the idea that this extended from the lowest to the highest among the people. The Chaldee paraphrase is, ‘from the lowest of the people even to the princes - all are contumacious and rebellious.’
No soundness - מתם methôm, from תמם tâmam, to be perfect, sound, uninjured. There is no part unaffected; no part that is sound. It is all smitten and sore.
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But wounds - The precise shade of difference between this and the two following words may not be apparent. Together, they mean Such wounds and contusions as are inflicted upon man by scourging, or beating him. This mode of punishment was common among the Jews; as it is at the East at this time. Abarbanel and Kimchi say that the word rendered here “wounds” (פצע petsa‛, a verbal from פצע pâtsa‛ to wound, to mutilate), means an open wound, or a cut from which blood flows.
Bruises - חבורה chabbûrâh. This word means a contusion, or the effect of a blow where the skin is not broken; such a contusion as to produce a swelling, and livid appearance; or to make it, as we say, black and blue.
Putrifying sores - The Hebrew rather means recent, or fresh wounds; or rather, perhaps, a running wound, which continues fresh and open; which cannot be cicatrized, or dried up. The Septuagint renders it elegantly πληγή φλγμαίνουσα plēgē flegmainous, a swelling, or tumefying wound. The expression is applied usually to inflammations, as of boils, or to the swelling of the tonsils, etc.
They have not been closed - That is, the lips had not been pressed together, to remove the blood from the wound. The meaning is, that nothing had been done toward healing the wound. It was an unhealed, undressed, all-pervading sore. The art of medicine, in the East, consists chiefly in external applications; accordingly the prophet’s images in this place are all taken from surgery. Sir John Chardin, in his note on Pro 3:8, ‘It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones,’ observes, that the comparison is taken from the plasters, ointments, oils, and frictions, which are made use of in the East in most maladies. ‘In Judea,’ says Tavernier, ‘they have a certain preparation of oil, and melted grease, which they commonly use for the healing of wounds.’ Lowth. Compare the note at Isa 38:21.
Neither mollified with ointment - Neither made soft, or tender, with ointment. Great use was made, in Eastern nations, of oil, and various kinds of unguents, in medicine. Hence, the good Samaritan is represented as pouring in oil and wine into the wounds of the man that fell among thieves Luk 10:34; and the apostles were directed to anoint with oil those who were sick; Jam 5:14; compare Rev 3:18.
Ointment - Hebrew oil. שׁמן shemen. The oil of olives was used commonly for this purpose. The whole figure in these two verses relates to their being punished for their sins. It is taken from the appearance of a man who is severely, beaten, or scourged for crime; whose wounds had not been dressed, and who was thus a continued bruise, or sore, from his head to his feet. The cause of this the prophet states afterward, Isa 1:10 ff. With great skill he first reminds them of what they saw and knew, that they were severely punished; and then states to them the cause of it. Of the calamities to which the prophet refers, they could have no doubt. They were every where visible in all their cities and towns. On these far-spreading desolations, he fixes the eye distinctly first. Had he begun with the statement of their depravity, they would probably have revolted at it. But being presented with a statement of their sufferings, which they all saw and felt, they were prepared for the statement of the cause. To find access to the consciences of sinners, and to convince them of their guilt, it is often necessary to remind them first of the calamities in which they are actually involved; and then to search for the cause. This passage, therefore, has no reference to their moral character. It relates solely to their punishment. It is often indeed adduced to prove the doctrine of depravity; but it has no direct reference to it, and it should not be adduced to prove that people are depraved, or applied as referring to the moral condition of man. The account of their moral character, as the cause of their calamities, is given in Isa 1:10-14. That statement will fully account for the many woes which had come on the nation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain From the lowest to the highest of the people;…
From the lowest to the highest of the people; "the ancient and honorable, the head, the prophet that teacheth lies, the tail." See Isa 9:13-16. He first states their wretched condition, obvious to all (Isa 1:6-9); and then, not previously, their irreligious state, the cause of it.
wounds--judicially inflicted (Hos 5:13).
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mollified with ointment--The art of medicine in the East consists chiefly in external applications (Luk 10:34; Jam 5:14).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. The state of the nation is indeed desperate;…
6. The state of the nation is indeed desperate; no remedial measures have yet been applied. In the simple surgery of Isaiah’s time a wound was first pressed (to extrude suppurating matter), then bandaged and softened with oil (cf. Luk_10:34).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain From the sole of the foot even unto the…
From the sole of the foot even unto the head. (comp. Job_2:7) From top to bottom, the body corporate is diseased throughout there is no soundness in it (cf. Psa_38:3, Psa_38:7) all is one wound, one livid bruise, one festering sore. Note the use of the singular number in the original. They have not been closed; literally, they have not been pressed; which is explained to mean (Aben Ezra, Kay) that they have not had the matter formed by suppuration pressed out of them. Neither bound up; i.e. not bandaged, Neither mollified with ointment; rather, with oil. On the treatment of wounds and ulcers with oil m ancient times, see "Hippocrat., De Ulceri. bus," Galen., "De Compos. Medic.," and comp. Luk_10:34. Recent medical science has revived the practice, and wounds of all kinds are now frequently treated with nothing but carbolic oil. The general sentiment of the entire passage is that there has been no medical treatment of the wounds of any kind; they have been left to themselves, to spread corruption over the whole body no attempt has been made to cure them.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:6 without any soothing ointments or bandages: Judah’s national…
1:6 without any soothing ointments or bandages: Judah’s national condition was like the body of an injured person who had not received medical care.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.