And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

ISAIAH 5:12KJV
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Isaiah 5:12 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 5:12 mean?

Isaiah 5:12 describes people who fill their celebrations with music and wine but ignore what God is doing and do not pay attention to His actions. The verse points out that while there is outward joy and festivity, there is no thought given to the work or purpose of the LORD.

The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah, warning them about their careless attitude toward God. Instead of recognizing or considering God's involvement in their lives, they focus only on their pleasures and festivities. This verse highlights a disconnect between enjoying good things and remembering the One who provides and acts in history.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 5:12

  • "Regard" (נָבַט, nāvat): This word means to look at or pay attention to. Here, it emphasizes that the people are not just failing to see, but are actively ignoring what God is doing.
  • "Work" (פֹּעַל, po‘al): This refers to God's deeds or actions. The verse stresses that God's work is present, but unnoticed by those who are distracted by their own celebrations.
  • "Operation" (מַעֲשֶׂה, ma‘ăseh): This word means deed or activity, often used for something accomplished by someone's hands. It underscores that God's involvement is concrete and real, not just abstract or distant.

Why Isaiah 5:12 matters

  • Isaiah 5:12 clears up the idea that enjoying good things is the problem; instead, the issue is forgetting or ignoring God while doing so.
  • The verse highlights a theme running through Isaiah 5: people are warned not just for their actions, but for their spiritual blindness and lack of attention to God’s work.
  • This verse helps set up the coming warnings and judgments in the chapter by showing the root problem: a people who celebrate but do not recognize or honor God’s role in their lives.

Where else these words appear

“pipe” Hebrew H2485 · used in 5 verses

  • 1 Samuel 10:5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:
  • 1 Kings 1:40 And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
  • Isaiah 30:29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.

“tabret” Hebrew H8596 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 31:27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
  • 2 Samuel 6:5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
  • Psalms 150:4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

“viol” Hebrew H5035 · used in 37 verses

  • 1 Samuel 1:24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.
  • 1 Chronicles 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:
  • Psalms 92:3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.

“work” Hebrew H6467 · used in 38 verses

  • Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
  • Psalms 28:4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
  • Proverbs 21:8 The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.