Jerusalem, once righteous, now stands condemned for her unfaithfulness and is urged by Isaiah to return wholeheartedly to God.
Isaiah declares God’s lament over Jerusalem by exclaiming, “How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.” (Isaiah 1:21). By calling Jerusalem “faithful” and then describing it with the stark image of a harlot, the prophet underscores the city’s shift from devotion to corruption. Though Jerusalem had served as the spiritual and political heart of God’s people since King David made it his capital around 1000 BC, here Isaiah portrays it as unfaithful, having abandoned the righteousness and justice that once characterized its governance and worship.
The term “harlot” in this passage signifies spiritual adultery—a forsaking of the covenant relationship with the LORD in favor of worshiping other gods or indulging in corruption. Instead of remaining the city where justice was administered with fairness, it had degraded into a place of violence and bloodshed. Murder and injustice within its borders stood as visible proof that the people had turned from God’s righteous ways. Isaiah prophesied between roughly 740 and 700 BC, a time when Israel (the Northern Kingdom) faced destruction at Assyria’s hand, and Judah (with Jerusalem as its capital) was itself journeying toward a future exile if it did not repent.
Isaiah’s words function as both an accusation and a plea: an accusation because the city had strayed so far from what God intended, and a plea because the heart of the prophecy calls for a restoration of purity and a return to faithfulness. In subsequent verses, the prophet calls on the people to wash themselves, cease evil, and learn to do good (Isaiah 1:16-17). The underlying promise is that the same God who demands justice also mercifully offers redemption if they will repent.
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Isaiah 1:21 meaning
Isaiah declares God’s lament over Jerusalem by exclaiming, “How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.” (Isaiah 1:21). By calling Jerusalem “faithful” and then describing it with the stark image of a harlot, the prophet underscores the city’s shift from devotion to corruption. Though Jerusalem had served as the spiritual and political heart of God’s people since King David made it his capital around 1000 BC, here Isaiah portrays it as unfaithful, having abandoned the righteousness and justice that once characterized its governance and worship.
The term “harlot” in this passage signifies spiritual adultery—a forsaking of the covenant relationship with the LORD in favor of worshiping other gods or indulging in corruption. Instead of remaining the city where justice was administered with fairness, it had degraded into a place of violence and bloodshed. Murder and injustice within its borders stood as visible proof that the people had turned from God’s righteous ways. Isaiah prophesied between roughly 740 and 700 BC, a time when Israel (the Northern Kingdom) faced destruction at Assyria’s hand, and Judah (with Jerusalem as its capital) was itself journeying toward a future exile if it did not repent.
Isaiah’s words function as both an accusation and a plea: an accusation because the city had strayed so far from what God intended, and a plea because the heart of the prophecy calls for a restoration of purity and a return to faithfulness. In subsequent verses, the prophet calls on the people to wash themselves, cease evil, and learn to do good (Isaiah 1:16-17). The underlying promise is that the same God who demands justice also mercifully offers redemption if they will repent.