Isaiah 57:4
“Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Isaiah asks Israel: who are you mocking, and do you not see that you are the offspring of rebellion and lies?
Context
The prophet's rhetorical question exposes the irony of Israel's proud defiance. They mock the servants of the true God while themselves bound in idolatry.
What Does Isaiah 57:4 Mean?
There is a particular cruelty in the mockery of the faithful. Those who serve God truly are vulnerable: they trust, they hope, they appear naive to a world bent on power. The idolaters 'sport' against them, make wide mouths (expressions of contempt and derision), draw out the tongue in mockery. But Isaiah's response is devastating: 'Do you not see what you are? You are children of transgression, seed of falsehood. What authority do you have to mock?' The mockers themselves are the product of rebellion. Their laughter comes from throats choked with lies. How can the false mock the true and expect not to be undone?
There is often a desperate energy in mockery, a shrill quality that betrays fear. Those truly secure do not need to mock. The idolaters' wide mouths and drawn-out tongues suggest people frantically asserting power they do not have, scorning a faithfulness they secretly envy. Their ancestry (spiritual lineage) is transgression and falsehood; they are, in the deepest sense, illegitimate. This question Isaiah asks cuts to the heart: what standing do the false have to judge the true?
Application
When we are mocked for our faith, we need not be shaken. The mockers' words often reveal their own emptiness, not our fault. We are called to hold fast, knowing that truth needs no thunderous voice to be true.