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times and almost exclusively in poetic-prophetic language. The usage is particularly
frequent in the poetical books. Isaiah’s use stands out among the prophets. The first
occurrence is in Num. 23:21: “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen
perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among
them.”
The meaning of “misfortune” comes to expression in the devices of the wicked
against the righteous. The psalmist expected “misfortune” to come upon him: “And if he
come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth
abroad, he telleth it” (Ps. 41:6).
*(
in this sense is synonymous with , “disaster”
(Job 18:12). In a real sense
(
is part of human existence, and as such the word is
identical with
, “toil,” as in Ps. 90:10: “The days of our years are threescore years
and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor
and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
*(
in a deeper sense characterizes the way of life of those who are without God:
“For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice
hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and
he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail” (Isa. 32:6). The being of man is corrupted by
“iniquity.” Though all of mankind is subject to
(
(“toil”), there are those who delight
in causing difficulties and “misfortunes” for others by scheming, lying, and acting
deceptively. The psalmist puts internalized wickedness this way: “Behold, he travaileth
with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood” (Ps. 7:14; cf.
Job 15:35).
Those who are involved in the ways of darkness are the “workers of iniquity,” the
doers of evil or the creators of “misfortune” and disaster. Synonyms for
(
with this
sense are , “evil,” and
, “wicked,” opposed to “righteousness” and “justice.”
They seek the downfall of the just (Ps. 141:9). Between Ps. 5:5 and 141:9 there are as
many as 16 references to the workers of evil (cf. “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight:
thou hatest all workers of iniquity”—Ps. 5:5). In the context of Ps. 5, the evil spoken of is
falsehood, bloodshed, and deceit (v. 6). The qualitative aspect of the word comes to the
best expression in the verbs with
( !
The wicked work, speak, beget, think, devise,
gather, reap, and plow
(
, and it is revealed (“comes forth”) by the misfortune that
comes upon the righteous. Ultimately when Israel’s religious festivals (Isa. 1:13) and
legislation (Isa. 10:1) were affected by their apostate way of life, they had reduced
themselves to the Gentile practices and way of life. The prophetic hope lay in the period
after the purification of Israel, when the messianic king would introduce a period of
justice and righteousness (Isa. 32) and the evil men would be shown up for their folly and
ungodliness.
The Septuagint has several translations:
(“lawlessness”);
(“work;
labor; toil”);
(“empty; fruitless; useless; powerless”);
(“wickedness;
maliciousness; sinfulness”); and
(“unrighteousness; wickedness; injustice”). The
KJV
has these translations: “iniquity; vanity; wickedness.”