Isaiah 5:21

Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, ¹  those who think they possess understanding. ² 

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!

Destruction is certain for those who think they are wise and consider themselves to be clever.

Doom to you who think you're so smart, who hold such a high opinion of yourselves!

Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes, and shrewd in your own sight!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, ¹  those who think they possess understanding. ² 

¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.

² tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”

sn Verses 18-21 contain three “woe-sayings” that are purely accusatory and have no formal announcement of judgment attached (as in the “woe-sayings” recorded in vv. 8-17). While this lack of symmetry is odd, it has a clear rhetorical purpose. Having established a pattern in vv. 8-17, the prophet deviates from it in vv. 18-21 to grab his audience’s attention. By placing the “woes” in rapid succession and heaping up the accusatory elements, he highlights the people’s guilt and introduces an element of tension and anticipation. One is reasonably certain that judgment will come, and when it does, it will be devastating. This anticipated devastation is described in frightening detail after the sixth and final woe (see vv. 22-30).