What is the meaning of Isaiah 59:7? Their feet run to evil “ ‘Their feet run to evil’ ” (Isaiah 59:7a) pictures deliberate, eager motion toward sin. Instead of resisting temptation, these people hurry toward it. • Proverbs 1:16 repeats the idea: “Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.” Solomon warns that sinners entice the naive to join them; the same warning stands today. • Romans 3:15 cites this very line, showing that the human heart, apart from God’s grace, has not changed. The literal wording underscores how willful rebellion is: sin is not an accident but a chosen path. They are swift to shed innocent blood The pace picks up—“swift” conveys urgency. Murder of the innocent violates the sixth commandment (Exodus 20:13) and provokes divine judgment (Genesis 4:10; Deuteronomy 19:10). • Psalm 10:8–10 describes the wicked lurking “to murder the innocent.” • From Cain and Abel onward, God holds societies accountable when life is cheapened (Genesis 9:6). When a culture devalues the unborn, the elderly, or the defenseless, it steps onto the same bloody road Isaiah condemns. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts Wrong actions flow from wrong thinking. Jesus linked the two: “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder” (Matthew 15:19). • Proverbs 6:18 calls “a heart that devises wicked schemes” an abomination. • Colossians 3:2 commands us to “Set your minds on things above,” the antidote to plotting evil. Isaiah affirms the literal truth that sin begins internally; transformation therefore starts with a renewed mind (Romans 12:2). Ruin and destruction lie in their wake Inevitably, sin leaves rubble. The phrase pictures smashed relationships, broken cities, and spiritual desolation. • Hosea 8:7 warns, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” • Jesus described the broad road that “leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13). Whether personal or societal, the aftermath of unchecked evil proves God’s Word true: sin pays wages of death (Romans 6:23). summary Isaiah 59:7 gives four progressive snapshots: feet racing toward evil, hands quick to spill innocent blood, minds plotting sin, and a trail of destruction left behind. Taken literally, the verse diagnoses humanity’s fallen condition and explains the devastation we see around us. Because Scripture is accurate, the only remedy is God’s intervention—fulfilled in Christ, who offers new hearts and peace to all who turn from that disastrous path and walk in His righteous way. |