Isaiah 33:15

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹³You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might." ¹⁴The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: "Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?" ¹⁵He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil-¹⁶he will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the mountain fortress; his food will be provided and his water assured. ¹⁷Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar. ¹⁸Your mind will ponder the former terror: "Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?" ¹⁹You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language that is not understood. ²⁰Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be loosened. ²¹But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will go, and majestic vessels will not pass. ²²For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. He will save us.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that walketh: Isaiah 56:1, Isaiah 56:2, Psalms 1:1-3, Psalms 15:1, Psalms 15:2, Psalms 24:4, Psalms 24:5, Psalms 26:1, Psalms 26:2, Psalms 106:3, Ezekiel 18:15-17, Malachi 2:6, Luke 1:6, Romans 2:7, Titus 2:11, Titus 2:12, 1 John 3:7

righteously: Heb. in righteousnesses

uprightly: Heb. in uprightnesses

despiseth: Nehemiah 5:7-13, Job 31:13-25, Luke 3:12-14, Luke 19:8, James 5:4

oppressions: or, deceits

shaketh: Exodus 23:6-9, Numbers 16:15, Deuteronomy 16:19, 1 Samuel 12:3, Jeremiah 5:26-28, Micah 7:3, Micah 7:4, Matthew 26:15, Acts 8:18-23, 2 Peter 2:14-16

stoppeth: 1 Samuel 24:4-7, 1 Samuel 26:8-11, Job 31:29-31, Psalms 26:4-6, Psalms 26:9-11, Jeremiah 40:15, Jeremiah 40:16, Ephesians 5:11-13

blood: Heb. bloods

shutteth: Psalms 119:37

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:21 - hating Exodus 20:17 - thy neighbour's house Exodus 23:7 - far from Leviticus 25:14 - General Deuteronomy 24:17 - pervert 1 Samuel 8:3 - but turned 1 Kings 21:16 - Ahab rose up 2 Chronicles 19:7 - taking of gifts Job 15:34 - the congregation Job 22:23 - thou shalt Job 27:8 - General Job 31:7 - cleaved Psalms 15:5 - nor taketh Psalms 26:10 - bribes Psalms 101:3 - set Proverbs 4:15 - General Proverbs 10:9 - that walketh Proverbs 15:27 - but Proverbs 20:7 - just Proverbs 28:16 - he that Ecclesiastes 7:7 - a gift Isaiah 1:23 - every Jeremiah 33:6 - and will Ezekiel 14:3 - should Ezekiel 18:7 - hath not Ezekiel 18:8 - hath withdrawn Ezekiel 22:13 - thy dishonest Amos 5:12 - take Acts 24:26 - hoped 1 Thessalonians 5:22 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 34:11
Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Grant me this favor, and I will give you whatever you ask.

Genesis 47:25
"You have saved our lives," they said. "We have found favor in our lord's eyes, and we will be Pharaoh's servants."

Ruth 2:13
"My lord," she said, "may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls."

1 Samuel 25:8
Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.'"

2 Samuel 16:4
So the king said to Ziba, "All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!" "I humbly bow before you," said Ziba. "May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He that walketh righteously,.... These are the words of the prophet, in answer to those of the hypocrites. So the Targum,

"the prophet said, the righteous shall dwell in it;''

not in the devouring fire and everlasting burnings, but in Zion, in Jerusalem, on high, in the munition of rocks, safe from those burnings; for these words are to be connected not with the preceding, but with the following verse Isaiah 33:16, "thus, he that walketh righteously", c. "he shall dwell on high", c. and such an one is he that walks by faith on Christ as his righteousness that walks after the Spirit, and not after the flesh; that walks uprightly, according to the rule of the Gospel, and as becomes it; that walks in the ways of judgment and righteousness, in which Christ leads his people, and lives soberly, righteously, and godly:

and speaketh uprightly; or "uprightnesses" b; upright things, what is in his heart, what is agreeable to the word of God, the standard of truth; who makes mention continually of the righteousness of Christ, and that only as his justifying one: and whose tongue talks of judgment, just and righteous things, and not what is corrupt, profane, impure, and impious:

he that despiseth the gain of oppressions; that which is got by oppression and rapine; the mammon of iniquity, as the Targum calls it; but reckons the gain of wisdom, and of godliness, exceeding preferable to it:

that shaketh his hand from holding of bribes; that will not receive any, but when they are put into his hands shakes them out, and will not retain them; expressing his abhorrence of such practices, and declaring that he is not to be influenced by such methods from speaking truth, and doing justice:

that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood; or "bloods" c; from hearing those that shed innocent blood, as the Targum; who will not hearken to any solicitations to shed blood; will not converse with men about it, or enter into schemes in order to it, much less join them in shedding it:

and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; done by others; he abhors it in himself, and dislikes it in others; turns his eyes from beholding it, so far from taking pleasure in it, and in those that do it: all this is opposed to the hypocrisy, impiety, profaneness, rapine, bribery, murders, and wickedness of the church of Rome; see Revelation 9:21.

b דבר מישרים "qui loquitur recta", Piscator; "loquens recta", Cocceius; "loquens aequitates", Montanus. c משמע דמים "ab audiendo sanquines", Montanus; "ne audiat sanquines", Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He that walketh righteously - In this and the following verses the prophet presents, in contrast, the confidence and the security of the righteous. He first, in this verse, describes the characteristics of the righteous, and in the following verses their confidence in God, and their security and safety. The first characteristic of the righteous man is that he walks righteously; that is, he lives righteously; he does right.

And speaketh uprightly - The second characteristic - his words are well-ordered. lie is not false, perfidious, slanderous, or obscene in his words. If a private individual, his words are simple, honest, and true; if a magistrate, his decisions are according to justice.

He that despiseth the gain of oppressions - Margin, ‘Deceits’. The third characteristic - he abhors the gain that is the result of imposition, false dealing, and false weights. Or if it mean oppressions, as the word usually does, then the sense is, that he does not oppress the poor, or take advantage of their needy condition, or affix exorbitant prices, or extort payment in a manner that is harsh and cruel.

That shaketh his hands from holding of bribes - The fourth characteristic - this relates particularly to magistrates. They adjudge causes according to justice, and do not allow their judgment to be swayed by the prospect of reward.

That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood - This is the fifth characteristic. It means, evidently, he who does not listen to a proposal to shed blood, or to any scheme of violence, and robbery, and murder (see the note at Isaiah 1:15).

And shutteth his eyes from seeing evil - He does not desire to see it; he is not found in the places where it is committed. A righteous man should not only have no part in evil, but he will keep himself if possible from being a witness of it. A man who sees all the evil that is going forward; that is present in every brawl and contention, is usually a man who has a fondness for such scenes, and who may be expected to take part in them. It is a remarkable fact that very few of the Society of Friends are ever seen in courts of justice as witnesses. The reason is, that they have no fondness for seeing the strifes and contentions of people, and are not found in those places where evil is usually committed. This is the sixth characteristic of the righteous man; and the sum of the whole is, that he keeps himself from all forms of iniquity.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 33:15. That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood - "Who stoppeth his ears to the proposal of bloodshed"] A MS. reads בדמים bedamim, "in blood."