Isaiah 5:20
Woe 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!
Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)
Context
Isaiah 5:20 belongs to a series of woe oracles that the prophet Isaiah delivered to the people of Judah. The verse sits within the larger passage known as the Song of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-30), where God’s care for His people is pictured as a vineyard that produced wild grapes. The woe in this verse is not aimed at ignorance but at deliberate moral inversion—people who know the truth yet choose to redefine it. The Hebrew parallelism in this verse emphasizes the intentional reversal of God’s established order, making clear that this is not a casual mistake but a willful act of rebellion.
Meaning
The verse pronounces a woe, a word of sorrow and judgment, upon those who call evil good and good evil. This first contrast condemns the perversion of values, the practice of justifying what is sinful and rejecting what is righteous. The second pair, putting darkness for light and light for darkness, describes the exchange of truth for falsehood and righteousness for wickedness. The third pair, putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, shows a reversal of moral taste, so that what is corrupt is welcomed and what is wholesome is despised. Together, the three pairs cover the full range of moral, intellectual, and experiential discernment, revealing a society that has lost its ability to distinguish right from wrong. The woe is not for ignorance but for willful moral confusion—people who know the truth yet choose to redefine it. This verse warns against the danger of moral relativism and the hardening of conscience that comes from repeatedly justifying sin.
Biblical connections
The immediate context continues in Isaiah 5:21 with a woe against those who are wise in their own eyes, showing that self-deception lies at the root of this moral inversion. The verse also echoes the broader biblical theme that God’s standards are absolute and unchanging, and that human beings are called to align their judgments with His Word rather than with personal preference or cultural trends. The three pairs in this verse cover the full range of moral, intellectual, and experiential discernment, demonstrating that this inversion affects every area of human judgment.
Application
This verse warns against moral relativism and the rejection of absolute truth. Believers are called to cultivate discernment, to distinguish between good and evil, light and darkness, and truth and falsehood. They are to base their understanding of right and wrong on God’s unchanging truth revealed in Scripture, and to maintain moral integrity even when society seeks to redefine values. The verse also calls believers to speak out against moral distortions with love and humility, and to seek God’s wisdom through prayer and study of His Word. The remedy is to align one’s judgments with God’s Word, not with personal preference or cultural trends. This requires ongoing vigilance, because the pressure to conform to society’s shifting standards is constant and subtle.
Reflection
The woe in Isaiah 5:20 is a sober reminder that moral confusion is not a neutral condition but a serious sin that invites divine judgment. It challenges each believer to examine whether their own judgments reflect God’s standards or the shifting opinions of the world. The remedy is to love what God loves and hate what God hates, and to let His Word shape every moral decision. This verse calls believers to maintain clear moral distinctions and to be people who call good good and evil evil, light light and darkness darkness, sweet sweet and bitter bitter, regardless of the cost.
