Isaiah 64:7

"For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."

Key Reflection

Isaiah 64:7 poignantly captures the human condition as perceived by the prophet. The people of Israel recognize their own moral and spiritual state—a universal sense of impurity and the futility of their attempts to be righteous, likening them to a "polluted garment." This imagery conveys the depth of sin that has corrupted both individual and collective lives. Moreover, they see themselves as fleeting, like leaves withering in the wind, and their sins as quickly dispersing, much like the breeze carries away a leaf, emphasizing the ephemeral nature of their moral failures.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

And there is none that calleth upon thy name -The nation is corrupt and degenerate. None worship God in sincerity. That stirreth up himself -The word used here (מתעוררmite‛ôrēr) refers to the effort which is requisite to rouse oneself when oppressed by a spirit of heavy slumber; and the idea here is, that the nation was sunk in spiritual torpor, and that the same effort was needful to excite it which was requisite to rouse one who had sunk down to deep sleep.

Related Verses

Job 30:22

More from Isaiah 64

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Go deeper with Bible.talk - your AI Bible study companion