What Does Isaiah 5:23 Mean in the King James?
Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
One Hebrew root names both sides of the verdict: the judges call the wicked aligned, then strip alignment from the aligned.
THE MEANING
When reward buys a verdict, wrongdoing is publicly called right and the righteous person is stripped of their standing. The harm moves in both directions: the wicked is cleared while the one who stands rightly is denied justice.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A favorable verdict cannot make wrongdoing right, and losing a public verdict does not make the righteous person crooked.
THE ROOT
מַצְדִּיקֵי
maṣdîqê
GROWS FROM
צדק
ṣ-d-q
To be right or just; to stand in alignment.
“justify / righteousness / righteous” in this verse is maṣdîqê. “Justify,” “righteousness,” and “righteous” all grow from צדק. The verse shows the same alignment being manipulated in opposite directions: judges declare the wicked right for a reward, then remove the righteous person’s standing.
ALSO GROWS
hiṣdîq: Declare right or just; justify.
הִצְדִּיק
This is the verdict-making form of the root, showing that the judges’ act is a public declaration of rightness.
ṣĕdāqāh: Righteousness or justice.
צְדָקָה
The same root names the justice the judges take away, tying the false verdict directly to the loss it causes.
ṣaddîq: A righteous or just person.
צַדִּיק
This names the person whose standing is stripped; the root links their character to the justice the verdict denies.
THE PATTERN
When judgment bends to reward or partiality, it can call wrongdoing right and deny justice to the righteous.
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?THE THREAD
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.“Righteousness” here and in Isaiah comes from the same root, צדק. Isaiah shows human judges bending that standing for reward; Genesis places righteousness in relation to trust rather than a price paid for a verdict.
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