I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

ISAIAH 47:6KJV
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Isaiah 47:6 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 47:6 mean?

Isaiah 47:6 describes God expressing anger toward His own people and allowing them to be handed over to another nation, which then treated them harshly and without compassion, especially toward the elderly. The verse highlights both God’s judgment on His people and the excessive cruelty shown by those who took them captive.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to Babylon, explaining why He allowed Babylon to conquer His people, Israel. The situation is one of judgment: because of Israel’s wrongdoing, God permitted their defeat. However, Babylon went beyond what was necessary, showing no mercy and placing a heavy burden on even the oldest among the captives.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 47:6

  • "wroth" (קָצַף, qatsaph): This word means to be very angry or enraged. It emphasizes the intensity of God’s displeasure with His people at that time.
  • "polluted" (חָלַל, chalal): This word often means to profane or defile. Here, it suggests that God allowed His people, usually seen as His special possession, to experience disgrace or loss of their protected status.
  • "mercy" (רַחַם, racham): This word refers to compassion or pity. The verse points out that Babylon showed none of this, highlighting the severity of their treatment.
  • "yoke" (עֹל, ol): This word refers to a wooden bar placed on animals or people for labor, symbolizing oppression or forced service. The verse uses it to show how heavily Babylon oppressed the Israelites, especially the elderly.

Why Isaiah 47:6 matters

  • Isaiah 47:6 clarifies that Babylon’s power over Israel was not because of their own strength, but because God allowed it as a form of judgment.
  • The verse reveals that God noticed and condemned the extreme cruelty Babylon showed, especially to the vulnerable, which sets up later statements about Babylon’s own coming judgment.
  • This verse helps readers understand the balance in the Bible between God’s justice (disciplining His people) and His concern for mercy, even when using other nations as instruments of judgment.

Where else these words appear

“wroth” Hebrew H7107 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 40:2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
  • Deuteronomy 9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
  • Isaiah 8:21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

“yoke” Hebrew H5923 · used in 34 verses

  • Genesis 27:40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
  • 2 Chronicles 10:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
  • Jeremiah 27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

“mercy” Hebrew H7356 · used in 44 verses

  • Genesis 43:14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
  • Nehemiah 9:31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
  • Isaiah 46:3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:

“heavily” Hebrew H3513 · used in 109 verses

  • Genesis 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
  • 2 Samuel 6:22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
  • Proverbs 8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.