Isaiah 63:17
“O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The prophet asks why God allowed Israel to wander from His paths and lose reverence for Him, then pleads for His return.
Context
This is a lament prayer in which the suffering people question God's governance while still appealing to His covenant bonds. The phrase 'thy servants' and 'tribes of thine inheritance' recalls the covenants of old.
What Does Isaiah 63:17 Mean?
The prayer holds a tension that makes readers uncomfortable. Did God 'make us to err' or did we choose to go astray? The prophet does not soften this. Israel names God as the one who allowed—or caused—the hardening of heart, the loss of reverence. This is not blame-shifting but honesty. We speak to the one who is sovereign even over our wandering, who permits what He does not approve. The hardened heart is a real state, and it came to pass in history. To name it before God is to refuse the lie that we are merely victims—we are agents in our own loss.
Yet the prayer does not end in accusation. It pivots: 'Return for thy servants' sake.' The word 'return' speaks of God coming back, resuming His role as shepherd. The tribes of His inheritance are still His—the claim is not dissolved by their waywardness. This is the intercession that stands on covenant: we are Yours, so turn and redeem us.
In the Original Language
Kashah (QSH), 'hardened' -- to make hard or stiff; the Hebrew captures a deliberate, irreversible-seeming change in condition, as when Pharaoh's heart was hardened in Exodus.
Application
When we recognize how far we have wandered, we need not excuse ourselves or blame God, but rather bring the truth of our condition before Him and appeal to His character as our redeemer. God's return to us begins when we admit the depth of our straying.