Isaiah 61:8
“For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God's justice is personal; he directs the redeemed's work in truth and binds himself to them forever.
Context
The context is the coming Messiah's justice and covenant-making. God abhors the corruption that uses religion as cover.
What Does Isaiah 61:8 Mean?
God's justice is personal: he hates the robbery cloaked in religion, the theft blessed with incense. He hates what is crooked, what wears the mask of devotion while plundering the weak. This hatred is not impersonal wrath but the passion of a lover for truth. Because he loves judgment, he will direct the work of the redeemed in truth, in straightness. Their hands will do honest labor, their words will ring true, their lives will be aligned.
The covenant is everlasting, made with those whose work he directs. This is not a transaction but a binding of himself to them. He stakes his name on their faithfulness, his presence on their growth. What God makes eternal, no power can break.
In the Original Language
mishpat (Hebrew), 'judgment, justice' -- not punishment alone but the setting of things right, the vindication of the oppressed.
Application
Our work is sanctified when it is truthful and just. God directs those who serve him in straightness, and his covenant with us stands forever.