Isaiah 5:18 - Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Bible Comments

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Woe unto them that draw iniquity - guilt, incurring punishment. The third woe-against obstinate perseverance in sin, as if they wished to provoke divine judgments.

With cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope. Rabbis say, 'An evil inclination is at first like a fine hair-string, but the finishing like a cart rope.' The antithesis is between the slender cords of sophistry, like the spider's web (Isaiah 59:5; Job 8:14), with which one sin draws on another, until they at last bind themselves with great guilt as with a cart-rope. They strain every nerve in sin.

Vanity - wickedness.

Sin - substantive, not a verb; they draw on themselves "sin" and its penalty recklessly.

Isaiah 5:18

18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: