Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
Parallel translations
- WEB Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- KJV Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- NKJV Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- NASB Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
- NLT What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
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
A woe falls on those who call evil good and good evil, exchanging darkness for light and bitter for sweet. It condemns the moral inversion that corrupts a society's conscience.
Overview
To redefine evil as good is to assault the very standards God established, blurring the line He drew between right and wrong. This corruption of moral judgment lies at the root of the injustices Isaiah has named. The verse stands as an enduring warning against any generation that overturns God's definitions of good and evil.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- 2 Tim 3:1–5But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
- Luke 16:15So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- Mal 2:17You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
- Job 17:12They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.
- Matt 6:22–23The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
- 2 Pet 2:1Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
- 2 Pet 2:18–19With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Luke 11:34–35Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.
- Mal 3:15So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”
- Matt 15:3–6Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
- Matt 23:16–23Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:20 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.