Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Isaiah 5:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” at Isaiah 5:20 as a specific part of “Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral Reversal.”
Read It With
- Isaiah 5:8–25
Read Isaiah 5:20 with 5:8–25. By itself, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, historical horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Woes against accumulation, intoxicated neglect, defiant wrongdoing, inverted moral speech, self-certified wisdom, and corrupt courts explain why anger and exile threaten the people.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “The Beloved Vineyard Yields Bloodshed Instead of Justice” into “Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral Reversal.” Its non-interchangeable movement is: Woes against accumulation, intoxicated neglect, defiant wrongdoing, inverted moral speech, self-certified wisdom, and corrupt courts explain why anger and exile threaten the people. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” at Isaiah 5:20 as a specific part of “Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral Reversal.”
Follow the Context
- The unit opens at 5:8 with the address, scene, poem, sign, question, or action named in its title.
- Woes against accumulation, intoxicated neglect, defiant wrongdoing, inverted moral speech, self-certified wisdom, and corrupt courts explain why anger and exile threaten the people.
- By 5:25 the movement reaches its warning, promise, answer, response, or transition before the next unit begins.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Calling evil good and good evil does not license a speaker to bypass evidence, context, or humility by simply labeling opponents evil.
What Remains True
Religious seriousness is tested by truthful institutions and concrete protection from exploitation. In Isaiah 5:20, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” at Isaiah 5:20 as a specific part of “Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral Reversal.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Audit policy and practice, listen to affected people, repair material harm, and do not reduce justice to a slogan or partisan badge. This response follows Isaiah 5:8–25's specific concern, “Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral Reversal.” This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” at Isaiah 5:20 as a specific part of “Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral Reversal.”
Teach It Back
Explain Isaiah 5:20's precise role in Isaiah 5:8–25. Include “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil,” state the unit's historical or literary limit, give one proportionate truth and action, and explicitly reject one harmful use.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Isaiah 5:8–25 — Six Woes Expose Land-Grabbing, Excess, and Moral ReversalSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 5:8–25, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 5:8–25 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 5:8–25 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Historical Context and The Demand for Justice guides; applied to Isaiah 5:8–25
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 5:8–25
Open the Enter the Bible Isaiah course ↗