The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples.
- BSB The LORD arises to contend; He stands 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 ye, O mountains, the LORD’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
- Hos 4:1–2Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
- Prov 23:10–11Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
- Ps 12:5For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
- Prov 22:22–23Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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
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.