Isaiah 5:17-30: a reflection

17Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich. 18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope, 19who say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!” 20Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink; 23who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent! 24Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have rejected the law of the LORD of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the LORD’s anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out. 26He will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly. 27No one shall be weary nor stumble among them; no one shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the belt of their waist be untied, nor the strap of their sandals be broken, 28whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind. 29Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver. 30They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.

Among the woes the prophet pronounces on a rebellious people is one that names a peculiar and dangerous corruption of the heart: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. This is not merely doing wrong, but inverting right and wrong themselves, calling the evil good and the good evil, treating darkness as light and light as darkness. It is the corruption of the very standards by which we judge, so that wrong is praised and right condemned. And close beside it comes another woe: to those who are wise in their own eyes. To call evil good and good evil is to lose the ability to see clearly, trusting one's own inverted judgment while the true measure of good and evil is turned upside down.

Notice the corruption this woe names: calling evil good and good evil. It is one thing to do wrong; it is another to invert the very standards, to call the evil good and the good evil, to put darkness for light. This inversion corrupts the ability to judge rightly at all; when good is called evil and evil good, the compass itself is broken. And it is bound up with being wise in one's own eyes, trusting one's own judgment even as that judgment has turned right and wrong upside down. To call evil good is not a small error but a deep corruption, one that praises what should be condemned and condemns what should be praised. Guarding the true measure of good and evil, refusing to call evil good, is no small matter; the inversion the prophet names is among the gravest dangers of the heart.

That is worth taking to heart, for we must guard against calling evil good and good evil, against inverting right and wrong. We can drift, or be led, into calling evil good and good evil, into treating darkness as light and light as darkness, especially when we grow wise in our own eyes and trust our own inverted judgment; but the prophet pronounces a woe on this very inversion. To keep good and evil rightly named, refusing to call the evil good, is to guard something vital. Do not call evil good or good evil, inverting right and wrong; guard the true measure of good and evil, refusing to be wise in your own eyes. Guard against calling evil good and good evil, keeping right and wrong rightly named rather than inverting them or growing wise in your own eyes, as the prophet pronounced a woe on those who put darkness for light and light for darkness; for to invert the very standards of good and evil is among the gravest corruptions of the heart, breaking the compass by which we judge, and we do well to keep good and evil rightly named rather than trusting a judgment that has turned them upside down.

Lord, among the woes the prophet pronounces on a rebellious people is one that names a peculiar and dangerous corruption of the heart: woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. This is not merely doing wrong, but inverting right and wrong themselves, calling the evil good and the good evil. It is the corruption of the very standards by which we judge, so that wrong is praised and right condemned. And close beside it comes another woe: to those who are wise in their own eyes. Show me the corruption this woe names: calling evil good and good evil. It is one thing to do wrong; it is another to invert the very standards, to call the evil good and the good evil, to put darkness for light. This inversion corrupts the ability to judge rightly at all; when good is called evil and evil good, the compass itself is broken. And it is bound up with being wise in one's own eyes, trusting one's own judgment even as that judgment has turned right and wrong upside down. Take that to my heart, for I must guard against calling evil good and good evil, against inverting right and wrong. I can drift, or be led, into calling evil good and good evil, especially when I grow wise in my own eyes and trust my own inverted judgment; but you pronounce a woe on this very inversion. To keep good and evil rightly named is to guard something vital. Keep me from calling evil good or good evil, inverting right and wrong; help me guard the true measure of good and evil, Lord, refusing to be wise in my own eyes, as you pronounced a woe on those who put darkness for light and light for darkness.