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Though the wicked person is shown compassion, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
Isaiah 26:10 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see Yahweh’s majesty.
  • KJV Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
  • BSB Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.
  • NKJV Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
  • NLT Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good. Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Even when shown favor, the wicked refuse to learn righteousness and act perversely, blind to God's majesty. Grace alone does not soften a stubborn heart.

Overview

Kindness extended to the wicked does not produce repentance; in a land of uprightness they still do wrong and ignore God's majesty. The verse exposes the hardness of the unregenerate heart. It underscores the need for the inward transformation that only God's grace in Christ can work.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 30

  • John 5:37–38The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.
  • Hos 11:7My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, he certainly won’t exalt them.
  • Rom 2:4–5Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
  • Rev 2:21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
  • Exod 8:31–32Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. There remained not one.
  • Jer 2:7I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you entered, you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
  • Prov 1:32For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.
  • Mic 3:10–12They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
  • Mic 2:10Arise, and depart! For this is not your resting place, because of uncleanness that destroys, even with a grievous destruction.
  • Exod 8:15But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
  • Deut 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned God who made him, and rejected the Rock of his salvation.
  • Eccl 3:16Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
  • Exod 9:34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
  • Ps 106:43He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
  • Ezek 22:2–16“You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.
  • Hos 13:6According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten me.
  • 1 Sam 15:17Samuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, weren’t you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
  • Isa 27:13It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
  • Isa 24:5The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant.
  • Ps 78:54–58He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
  • Ps 143:10Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
  • Hos 9:3They won’t dwell in Yahweh’s land; but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
  • Ps 28:4–5Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
  • Isa 22:12–13In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth:
  • Jer 31:23Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I shall bring again their captivity: ‘Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.’
  • Isa 5:12The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
  • Isa 2:10Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty.
  • Isa 63:9–10In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
  • Isa 32:6For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against Yahweh, To make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
  • Matt 4:5Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 26:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 26:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.