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!
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!
- BSB 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.
- 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 17:15He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
- 2 Tim 3:1–5But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come.
- Luke 16:15He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
- Mal 2:17You have wearied Yahweh with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in Yahweh’s sight, and he delights in them;’ or ‘Where is the God of justice?’
- Job 17:12They change the night into day, saying ‘The light is near’ in the presence of darkness.
- Matt 6:22–23“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
- 2 Pet 2:1But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
- 2 Pet 2:18–19For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error;
- Amos 5:7You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth:
- Luke 11:34–35The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
- Mal 3:15Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape.’
- Matt 15:3–6He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
- Matt 23:16–23“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.