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are virtually synonymous; “Lo, this [the live coal] hath touched thy [Isaiah’s] lips; and
thine iniquity [
(
] is taken away, and thy sin [
] purged” (Isa. 6:7).
“Iniquity” as an offense to God’s holiness is punishable. The individual is warned that
the Lord punishes man’s transgression: “But every one shall die for his own iniquity:
every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge” (Jer. 31:30). There is
also a collective sense in that the one is responsible for the many: “Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me” (Exod. 20:5). No generation, however, was to think that it bore God’s
judgment for the “iniquity” of another generation: “Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son
bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and
hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear
the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the
wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezek. 18:19- 20).
Israel went into captivity for the sin of their fathers and for their own sins: “And the
heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because
they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the
hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword” (Ezek. 39:23).
Serious as “iniquity” is in the covenantal relationship between the Lord and His
people, the people are reminded that He is a living God who willingly forgives
“iniquity”: “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation”
(Exod. 34:7). God expects confession of sin: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine
iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou
forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Ps. 32:5), and a trusting, believing heart which
expresses the humble prayer: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me
from my sin” (Ps. 51:2).
Isaiah 53 teaches that God put upon Jesus Christ our “iniquities” (v. 6), that He
having been bruised for our “iniquities” (v. 5) might justify those who believe on Him:
“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11).
The usage of
(
includes the whole area of sin, judgment, and “punishment” for
sin. The Old Testament teaches that God’s forgiveness of “iniquity” extends to the actual
sin, the guilt of sin, God’s judgment upon that sin, and God’s punishment of the sin.
“Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there
is no guile” (Ps. 32:2).
In the Septuagint the word has the following renderings:
(“wrongdoing;
unrighteousness; wickedness”);
(“sin; error”); and
(“lawlessness”). In
the English versions the translation “iniquity” is fairly uniform. The
RSV
and
NIV
give at a
few places the more specialized rendering “guilt” or the more general translation “sin.”
(
(
&/
, 205), “iniquity; misfortune.” This noun is derived from a root meaning
“to be strong,” found only in the Northwest Semitic languages. The word occurs about 80