"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Truth to Learn
Bloodshed and violence are part of human nature.
Behind the Words
“Swift” is translated from the Greek word oxus. The basic meaning of this word is “to have a sharp, piercing point or a very sharp edge.” But this word also implies eagerness toward violence.
The word translated “shed” is ekcheō, which is a compound word made up of ek, meaning “out” or “out of” and cheō, which means “to pour.” Therefore, we can see that this word literally means “to pour out.”
Meaning Explained
In today’s verse the Apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 59:7 which says,
Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and ruin are in their ways.
This passage in Isaiah occurs in the midst of a description of the character of the nation of Israel in the time of Isaiah. The expression, “their feet r,” implies the eagerness of the Jewish people to commit crime, particularly deeds of bodily injury and cruelty. They pursued the innocent ones and were not afraid to shed others’ blood to gratify their wicked desires, or to satisfy their vengeance on those who opposed them.
Notice also, in the Isaiah passage, that it is not just their actions that indicate the wickedness of their hearts. Isaiah says that their thoughts were thoughts of iniquity. Even when they were not performing deeds of wickedness and injury to others, they were thinking about doing evil.
In quoting this passage, however, Paul is showing us that this is the nature of all of mankind, not just Jews. It is clear from Paul’s description of the depravity of mankind in this passage that without the grace of a merciful God, none of us would ever be able to stand before the Judge of the universe without fear of condemnation.
If we hearken back to the metaphor of life being depicted as walking along a pathway, we begin to see the magnitude of this sinful characteristic of man. Instead of a leisurely stroll down the path of life, or even hastening one’s step to pursue closeness to our Travel Guide, this verse portrays man dashing off the path of righteousness in order to attack others. It is indicative of the overwhelming influence of our sin nature when it is not being held in check by the Holy Spirit of God.
Application
It’s easy to see this type of attitude and action being played out all around us. It might be some person going on a killing rampage because they’re angry, or it might be crooked government officials causing pain and suffering for innocent people because of their own selfish greed. It’s part of human nature. We Christians need to do two things. First, we need to ensure that we are humbled before God and filled with His Spirit so we don’t think or do any such things. Then, we need to pray for those who do these things. Be a witness of Christ’s love and pray for the salvation of others. Remember that it is only by the grace of God that we will appear some day before the Judge having the righteousness of Christ. Thank you, Lord for saving my soul!
In God's service, for His glory,
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