Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

ISAIAH 65:7KJV
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Isaiah 65:7 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 65:7 mean?

Isaiah 65:7 says that God will hold the people of Israel accountable for their own sins and also for the sins of their ancestors, especially because they worshipped other gods on the mountains and openly dishonored God. As a result, God declares that He will repay them fully for these actions.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel, addressing their long history of turning away from Him. The mention of burning incense on the mountains and blaspheming on the hills refers to idol worship and disrespectful acts done in public places, which were common forms of unfaithfulness. The verse emphasizes that both past and present generations are responsible for these actions, and that God’s response will be just and thorough.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 65:7

  • "iniquities" (עָוֹן, ʿavon): This word points to guilt or wrongdoing, often with the sense of a heavy burden or twistedness. Its use here stresses the seriousness of the people's actions.
  • "incense" (קָטַר, qāṭar): Burning incense was part of worship, but here it refers to improper worship of other gods. The specific mention highlights the offense of idolatry.
  • "blasphemed" (חָרֵף, ḥāref): This word means to insult or show contempt. It shows that the people’s actions were not just mistakes but direct insults to God.
  • "measure" (מָדַד, mādad): This verb means to measure out or allot. It gives the sense that God’s response will be exact and fitting, not random or excessive.
  • "bosom" (חֵיק, ḥēq): This word refers to the fold of a garment or the chest area, often used for carrying things close. Here, it pictures God returning their deeds right back to them, personally and directly.

Why Isaiah 65:7 matters

  • Isaiah 65:7 clarifies that God’s judgment is not only for the current generation but also takes into account the ongoing patterns of sin passed down from their ancestors.
  • The verse highlights how public acts of worship, even when done in the open on mountains and hills, do not make them acceptable if they dishonor God.
  • This verse connects to the broader message of Isaiah 65, where God contrasts the unfaithfulness of some with the promise of blessing for those who remain faithful, showing the seriousness of turning away from Him.

Where else these words appear

“work” Hebrew H6468 · used in 14 verses

  • Leviticus 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
  • Psalms 109:20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
  • Isaiah 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.

“bosom” Hebrew H2436 · used in 34 verses

  • Genesis 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
  • 1 Kings 3:20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
  • Proverbs 17:23 A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.

“blasphemed” Hebrew H2778 · used in 40 verses

  • Leviticus 19:20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
  • 2 Kings 19:23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.
  • Psalms 89:51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

“measure” Hebrew H4058 · used in 49 verses

  • Exodus 16:18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
  • Ezekiel 40:13 He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.
  • Ezekiel 41:13 So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;