Bible Strands
Isaiah 59:8
The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the covenant people, describing their moral condition immediately after detailing their violent actions and corrupt thoughts in Isaiah 59:7. The oracle follows with Isaiah 59:9, which confirms that justice and righteousness remain distant while darkness replaces their hope.
The words — The Hebrew דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) denotes a way or path, and מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) denotes justice, both of which the people’s tracks completely lack. The text explicitly states that they have twisted these paths into crookedness, ensuring no traveler finds peace.
The thread — This description of a pathless, justice-less existence echoes the chaotic imagery of the wicked in Isaiah 57:20 and is later quoted in Romans 3:17 to summarize human moral bankruptcy. The surrounding context in Psalm 58:1 reinforces the theme by questioning whether rulers actually speak justly.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that persistent moral corruption systematically destroys any possibility of peace or justice, leaving only ruin and darkness. The reader must see that ethical failure is not a private matter but a structural condition that contaminates every path one treads.
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 way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 57:20 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.
- Romans 3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
- Psalms 58:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
- Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
- Luke 1:79 to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
- Jeremiah 5:1 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
- Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
- Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
- Psalms 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Proverbs 2:15 whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.