Bible Strands
Isaiah 32:7
The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses Judah’s leadership during a period of systemic corruption, contrasting the conduct of the wicked with the coming righteous rule. The passage situates the scoundrel’s behavior directly against the noble man’s honorable plans in Isaiah 32:8.
The words — כְּלָיו (ke.Lav) translates to “his weapons,” and זִמּוֹת (zi.Mot) means “evil purposes.” These terms describe how the scoundrel’s tools and plotted schemes are fundamentally destructive.
The thread — This pattern of hidden malicious plotting against the vulnerable appears in Jeremiah 5:26, Psalm 64:4, and Isaiah 5:23. These passages collectively document how corrupt actors use traps, ambushes, and bribes to subvert justice.
Why it lands — The text states that the wicked actively fabricate lies to ruin the needy, even when their pleas are just. It demands the reader recognize that systemic injustice is deliberate and requires discernment to identify the noble conduct that counters it.
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 instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 5:26 For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
- Psalms 64:4 ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.
- Isaiah 5:23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Matthew 26:14 Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
- Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Acts 6:11 Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
- 1 Kings 21:10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
- Psalms 10:7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.
- Psalms 82:2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
- Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.