Bible Strands
Isaiah 32:5
No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses Judah during a period of moral inversion, contrasting the current confusion of leadership with the coming era of the righteous ruler. The prophecy marks a transition from distorted discernment to clear moral evaluation.
The words — יִקָּרֵ֥א (yi.ka.Re') means "it will be called," and נָדִ֑יב (na.Div) means "noble." The verse uses these terms to declare that the current practice of elevating the worthless will cease.
The thread — The text's theme of corrected moral valuation appears in Isaiah 5:20 (condemning the reversal of good and evil), Psalms 15:4 (honoring the reverent while despising the vile), and Malachi 3:18 (distinguishing the righteous from the wicked).
Why it lands — The passage demands readers abandon the current cultural elevation of the wicked and align their judgments with the coming standard of righteousness. It requires active discernment that stops mistaking scoundrels for leaders.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
- Psalms 15:4 who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
- Malachi 3:18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
- 1 Samuel 25:3 His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
- 1 Samuel 25:25 My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.
- Proverbs 23:6 Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;