Bible Strands
Isaiah 59:12
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The people of Israel address God directly, following their confession of moral failure and the absence of justice in Isaiah 59:11. Their speech occurs at the threshold of divine intervention, where human guilt is laid bare before the covenant Lord.
The words — עָ֣נְתָה ('A.ne.tah) = it has testified; רַבּ֤וּ (ra.Bu) = they are many. The text states that sins actively bear witness against the people and that transgressions are numerically increased before God.
The thread — The pattern of iniquities testifying against the people runs through Ezra 9:6, Jeremiah 14:7, and Hosea 5:5. These passages consistently pair corporate confession with the observation that rebellion is both documented and inescapable.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that sin is both multiplied and present, leaving no room for self-justification. It requires the reader to cease hiding from guilt and face the documented reality of rebellion before seeking restoration.
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
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
Cross-references
- Ezra 9:6 and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
- Jeremiah 14:7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
- Hosea 5:5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; even Judah stumbles with them.
- Isaiah 1:4 Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
- Ezekiel 5:6 But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes worse than the countries around her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’
- Hosea 4:2 Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
- Ezra 9:13 After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),
- Nehemiah 9:33 You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
- Isaiah 3:9 The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- Jeremiah 3:2 “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.