Biblical Concept: Attacking the Right
Introduction: Isaiah 29:21 and Isaiah 59:4 describe the technique
of those who find truth, or right and wrong, inconvenient to their goals.
1) NAS Isaiah 29:21 Who cause
a person to be indicted by a word, And ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,
And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
“And ensnare him who
adjudicates at the gate” in Hebrew =
!Wvqoy>
r[;V;B; x;ykiAMl;w>
ensnare,
gate, adjudicates
Grammatical help:
vwq verb: qal imperf 3rd pers masc pl paragogic nun 1) (Qal) to lay
bait or lure, lay a snare, lure
Improved Hebrew
translation of Isaiah 29:21b: “And
ensnaring him who adjudicates at the gate.”
Application: The ‘ruthless evil scorner’ (Isaiah 29:20) brings
continual personal attack on any legal authority in opposition to his
cause. The goal is to influence legal
proceedings by continually challenging the credibility of any and all officials
on the side of the law--the right.
“And defraud the one in the
right with meaningless arguments” in Hebrew =
qyDIc; WhTob; WJY:w:
right meaningless defraud
Grammatical Helps:
w conjunction hj"n" verb: hifil imperf waw consec 3rd pers masc pl 1) to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert,
incline, bend, bow 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to stretch
out, extend, stretch, offer 1a2) to
spread out, pitch (tent) 1a3) to bend,
turn, incline 1a3a) to turn aside,
incline, decline, bend down 1a3b) to
bend, bow 1a3c) to hold out, extend
(fig.) 1b) (Niphal) to be stretched out 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1)
to stretch out 1c2) to spread out 1c3)
to turn, incline, influence, bend down,
hold out, extend, thrust aside, thrust
away
B article with insep prep WhTo common noun masc sing 1)
formlessness, confusion, unreality,
emptiness 1a) formlessness (of primeval
earth) 1a1) nothingness, empty space 1b)
that which is empty or unreal (of idols)
(fig) 1c) wasteland, wilderness (of
solitary places) 1d) place of chaos 1e)
vanity
qyDIc; adjective masc sing 1)
just, lawful, righteous 1a) just,
righteous (in government) 1b) just,
right (in one's cause) 1c) just,
righteous (in conduct and character)
1d) righteous (as justified and
vindicated by God) 1e) right, correct,
lawful
Improved Hebrew
translation of Isaiah 29:21c: “Caused
the stretching out with empty confusion (the) righteous.”
Application: The ‘ruthless evil scorner’ (Isaiah 29:20) brings
attack on the righteous through the stretching out of empty argumentation. The goal is to wear down the opponent and
confuse those following the debate.
Principle: Empty arguments, repeated long enough, can become influential
in a debate. Influence enough people,
and wrong can become the course of action followed. Rule of law might preserve the righteous,
unless those in the gate are activist- judge-law-makers (Isaiah 29:21c).
2) NAS Isaiah 59:4 No one
sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion, and speak
lies; They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
“They trust in confusion, and
speak lies; They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity” in Hebrew =
`!w<a' dyleAhw>
lm'[' Arh' aw>v'-rB,d;w>
WhTo-l[; x;AjB'
iniquity bring
mischief conceive lies speak
confusion trust
Grammatical Helps:
xj;B' verb: qal inf
abs 1) to trust 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to trust,
trust in 1a2) to have confidence, be
confident 1a3) to be bold 1a4) to be
secure 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to cause to trust, make secure 2) (TWOT) to feel safe, be
careless
WhTo common noun masc sing 1) formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness 1a) formlessness (of primeval earth) 1a1) nothingness, empty space 1b) that which is empty or unreal (of idols)
(fig) 1c) wasteland, wilderness (of
solitary places) 1d) place of chaos 1e)
vanity
rBeDI verb: piel inf abs 1) to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing 1a) (Qal)
to speak 1b) (Niphal)
to speak with one another, talk 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to speak 1c2) to
promise 1d) (Pual) to be spoken 1e) (Hithpael) to speak
1f) (Hiphil) to lead
away, put to flight
aw>v' common noun masc sing 1) emptiness,
vanity, falsehood 1a) emptiness,
nothingness, vanity 1b) emptiness of
speech, lying 1c) worthlessness (of
conduct)
hr'h' verb: qal inf
abs 1) to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor 1a) (Qal) to conceive,
become pregnant 1b) (Pual) to be conceived 1c) (Poel)
to conceive, contrive, devise
lm'[' common noun masc sing 1) toil, trouble, labour
1a) trouble 1b) trouble, mischief 1c)
toil, labour
w conjunction dl;y" verb: hifil inf abs 1) to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to bear,
bring forth 1a1a) of child birth 1a1b)
of distress (simile) 1a1c) of wicked (behaviour) 1a2) to beget 1b) (Niphal) to be born
1c) (Piel) 1c1) to
cause or help to bring forth 1c2) to
assist or tend as a midwife 1c3)
midwife (participle) 1d) (Pual) to be born 1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to beget (a child) 1e2) to bear
(fig. - of wicked bringing forth
iniquity) 1f) (Hophal) day of birth, birthday (infinitive) 1g) (Hithpael) to declare one's birth (pedigree)
!w<a' common noun masc sing 1) trouble, wickedness, sorrow 1a) trouble,
sorrow 1b) idolatry 1c) trouble of iniquity, wickedness
Improved Hebrew
translation of Isaiah 59:4b :
“Confident because of confusion and intensely speaking lies, pregnant (with)
trouble causing the birth of wickedness.”
Application: In a legal situation (Isaiah 59:4a) how does one in
the wrong plead and even win the case?--by being boldly confident at past
success of spreading confusion.
Attacking the right is not done by the faint of heart. It is done by zealots: “confident because of
confusion.” These zealots are also
confident because of past success at lying, they are intense at it. Principle: Speak a lie with enough conviction
and repetition, and it can influence an argument. These zealots are not casual about opposing
right, they are “pregnant with trouble.”
They are ready to oppose any manner of right. The final result is various manners of
wickedness. The more ‘pregnant birthing
wicked’ in a society, the greater the harm to right--NAS Proverbs 11:10 “When
it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish,
there is glad shouting. 11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.”