Isaiah 10:1-2 Explained

"Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!" — Isaiah 10:1-2 (KJV)

A woe pronounced not on lawbreakers but on lawmakers — the injustice here is legal.

Read it in context: The Book of Isaiah. Also gathered under verses about justice.

Isaiah 10:1-2 in context

What does Isaiah 10:1-2 mean?

'Decree' and 'write' are both formal acts — this is legislation, properly enacted. The verbs that follow describe the effect: turn aside from judgment, take away a right, and finally prey and rob. That escalation is the argument. What was done through correct procedure is named at the end with the words used for banditry, and the verse refuses to let legality settle the question of justice.

What is the context of Isaiah 10:1-2?

Isaiah has been indicting Judah's leadership through several chapters. This woe lands on the ones who draft the rules rather than on those who break them, and the following verses ask what they will do on the day of reckoning.

How do I pray Isaiah 10:1-2?

Pray it where you have any hand in setting rules — at work, in a church, over a household. Ask who the rule you last wrote makes life harder for, and whether their difficulty was invisible to you when you wrote it. That invisibility is what the passage is describing.

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