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.
Parallel translations
- WEB The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don’t hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- KJV The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
- NKJV The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.
- NASB The expression of their faces testifies against them, And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have done evil to themselves.
- NLT The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.
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
Their very faces betray their guilt as they flaunt their sin like Sodom, without shame. Their brazen, open wickedness brings disaster on themselves.
Overview
The loss of shame, parading sin openly, marks a deep moral corruption likened to Sodom. The 'woe' pronounced shows that they have invited their own ruin. Such hardened sinfulness highlights humanity's need for the transforming grace found only in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Gen 13:13But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
- Gen 18:20–21Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
- Ps 73:6–7Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.
- Prov 30:13There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances—
- 2 Kgs 9:30Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
- Isa 3:16The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
- Lam 5:16The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
- Jer 44:16–17“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
- Rom 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Gen 19:5–9They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”
- Jer 3:3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
- 1 Sam 15:32Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him cheerfully, for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
- Ps 10:4In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.
- Prov 8:36But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
- Jer 6:15Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD.
- Ezek 23:16At the sight of them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
- Dan 7:20I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
- Hos 13:9You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 3:9 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.