The LORD arises to contend; He stands to judge the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples.
- KJV The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
- NKJV The Lord stands up to plead, And stands to judge the people.
- NASB ¶The Lord arises to contend, And stands to judge the people.
- NLT The Lord takes his place in court and presents his case against his people.
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
The LORD takes His stand to contend and to judge the peoples. God Himself rises as judge over His people's sin.
Overview
The courtroom imagery presents God prosecuting and judging the nation's wrongdoing. His standing to contend signals the certainty and seriousness of the verdict. This portrays God as the righteous Judge of all, a role ultimately entrusted to Christ (John 5:22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Mic 6:2Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel:
- Hos 4:1–2Hear 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!
- Prov 23:10–11Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
- Ps 12:5“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Prov 22:22–23Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
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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 3:13 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
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