Isaiah 9:15

Bible in Basic English

The man who is honoured and responsible is the head, and the prophet who gives false teaching is the tail.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The head is the elder, the honored one;the tail is the prophet, the one teaching lies.

Hebrew Names Version
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

King James Version
The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

English Standard Version
the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;

New American Standard Bible
The head is the elder and esteemed man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.

New Century Version
The elders and important men were the head, and the prophets who speak lies were the tail.

Amplified Bible
The elderly and honorable man, he is the head; And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

World English Bible
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The ancient and the honorable man, he is the head: and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the taile.

Legacy Standard Bible
The head is the elder and the highly respected man,And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.

Berean Standard Bible
The head is the elder and the honorable man and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.

Contemporary English Version
Their rulers and leaders were the head, and the lying prophets were the tail.

Complete Jewish Bible
For those leading this people lead them astray, and those led by them are destroyed.

Darby Translation
the ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Easy-to-Read Version
(The head means the elders and important leaders. The tail means the prophets who told lies.)

George Lamsa Translation
The elder and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

Good News Translation
The old and honorable men are the head—and the tail is the prophets whose teachings are lies!

Lexham English Bible
Elders and the respectable are the head, and prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Literal Translation
The elder and the exalted of face; he is the head. And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
By the heade, is vnderstonde the Senatoure and honorable man, and by ye tale, the prophet that preacheth lyes.

American Standard Version
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

King James Version (1611)
The ancient and honourable, hee is the head: and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the taile.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
By the head, is vnderstande the senatour and honourable man, and by the tayle, the prophete that preached lyes.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail.

English Revised Version
The ancient and the honourable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
An elde man and onourable, he is the heed, and a profete techynge a leesyng, he is the tail.

Update Bible Version
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.

Webster's Bible Translation
The ancient and honorable, he [is] the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he [is] the tail.

New English Translation
The leaders and the highly respected people are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

New King James Version
The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

New Living Translation
The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail.

New Life Bible
The leaders and men of honor are the head, and the tail is the false preachers who teach lies.

New Revised Standard
elders and dignitaries are the head, and prophets who teach lies are the tail;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The eider and favourite, he, is the head, - And the prophet teaching falsehood, he, is the tail;

Douay-Rheims Bible
The aged and honourable, he is the head: and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Revised Standard Version
the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;

Young's Literal Translation
Elder, and accepted of face, he [is] the head, Prophet, teacher of falsehood, he [is] the tail.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.

Contextual Overview

⁸ The Lord has sent a word to Jacob, and it has come on Israel; ⁹ And all the people will have experience of it, even Ephraim and the men of Samaria, who say in the pride of their uplifted hearts, ¹⁰ The bricks have come down, but we will put up buildings of cut stone in their place: the sycamores are cut down, but they will be changed to cedars. ¹¹ For this cause the Lord has made strong the haters of Israel, driving them on to make war against him; ¹² Aram on the east, and the Philistines on the west, who have come against Israel with open mouths. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ¹³ But the heart of the people was not turned to him who sent punishment on them, and they made no prayer to the Lord of armies. ¹⁴ For this cause the Lord took away from Israel head and tail, high and low, in one day. ¹⁵ The man who is honoured and responsible is the head, and the prophet who gives false teaching is the tail. ¹⁶ For the guides of this people are the cause of their wandering from the right way, and those who are guided by them come to destruction. ¹⁷ For this cause the Lord will have no pleasure in their young men, and no pity on their widows and the children without fathers: for they are all haters of God and evil-doers, and foolish words come from every mouth. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ancient: Isaiah 3:5, Isaiah 5:13, 1 Samuel 9:6

the prophet: Isaiah 28:17, Isaiah 29:10, 1 Kings 13:18, 1 Kings 22:22-24, Jeremiah 5:31, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 14:15, Jeremiah 23:9, Jeremiah 23:14, Jeremiah 23:15, Jeremiah 23:25-27, Jeremiah 27:9, Jeremiah 27:10, Jeremiah 27:14, Jeremiah 27:15, Jeremiah 28:15, Jeremiah 28:16, Jeremiah 29:21, Jeremiah 29:22, Ezekiel 13:1-16, Ezekiel 13:19, Ezekiel 13:22, Hosea 9:8, Malachi 2:9, Matthew 7:15, Matthew 24:24, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Galatians 1:8, Galatians 1:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, 2 Timothy 4:2, 2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 1 John 4:1, Revelation 19:20

Reciprocal: Leviticus 13:29 - General Deuteronomy 13:1 - a prophet Deuteronomy 13:5 - prophet Deuteronomy 28:13 - the head Joshua 10:19 - smite Nehemiah 6:14 - on the prophetess Proverbs 12:22 - Lying Proverbs 19:9 - and Isaiah 3:2 - the ancient Isaiah 3:12 - lead thee Isaiah 19:15 - General Jeremiah 20:6 - thy friends Jeremiah 27:16 - for Jeremiah 32:32 - they Lamentations 2:14 - prophets Amos 2:4 - and their Micah 2:11 - a man Micah 3:5 - concerning Zephaniah 3:4 - light Zechariah 11:17 - idol Matthew 23:13 - woe 2 Corinthians 11:15 - whose Ephesians 4:25 - putting 1 Timothy 4:2 - lies Revelation 9:19 - in their tails Revelation 12:3 - ten Revelation 21:8 - and all Revelation 22:15 - whosoever

Cross-References

Genesis 9:8
And God said to Noah and to his sons,

Genesis 9:10
And with every living thing with you, all birds and cattle and every beast of the earth which comes out of the ark with you.

Exodus 28:12
And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them.

Deuteronomy 7:9
Be certain, then, that the Lord your God is God; whose faith and mercy are unchanging, who keeps his word through a thousand generations to those who have love for him and keep his laws;

1 Kings 8:23
Said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on the earth; keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts.

Nehemiah 9:32
And now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be feared, who keeps faith and mercy, let not all this trouble seem small to you, which has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day.

Psalms 106:45
And kept in mind his agreement with them, and in his great mercy gave them forgiveness.

Jeremiah 14:21
Do not be turned from us in disgust, because of your name; do not put shame on the seat of your glory: keep us in mind, let not your agreement with us be broken.

Ezekiel 16:60
But still I will keep in mind the agreement made with you in the days when you were young, and I will make with you an eternal agreement.

Luke 1:72
To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The ancient and honourable, he [is] the head,.... The elder in office, not in age; and who, on account of his office, dignity, and riches, is honoured by men, is of a venerable countenance himself, and is reverenced when seen and looked upon by others, and received by persons with pleasure and cheerfulness; as the phrase used signifies. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "who admire", or "have" men's "persons in admiration"; which is the character Jude gives of false teachers, Judges 1:16 who are next described:

and the prophet that teacheth lies, he [is] the tail; so called from their low extract, being often of a mean original and descent; or rather from the meanness of their spirits, their flattery of princes and great men, to whom they tell lies, and prophesy smooth and false things, for the sake of a little sordid gain, in allusion to dogs that wag their tails at their masters; or from the poison of their doctrines, some creatures having poison in their tails, and do much mischief with them. See Revelation 9:19.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The ancient - The elder; the old man.

And honorable - Hebrew, ‘The man of elevated countenance.’ The man of rank and office.

The prophet that teacheth lies - The false prophet. Of those there were many; and probably at this time many in Samaria.