Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 1:10

"Hear the word of Jehovah, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." — Isaiah 1:10 (ASV)

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom.—The Hebrew text, by leaving a space between the two verses, indicates the beginning of a new section. It is noticeable that the prophet does not address the king. It may be that he trusted him, but not his ministers. We have to remember that the rulers (better, judges; same word as kadi) thus addressed were probably those who were outwardly active in Hezekiah’s work of reformation, or had taken part in the older routine worship under Uzziah. For princes and people alike, that reformation was only superficial.

The priestly writer of the Book of Chronicles might dwell only on the apparent good in either reign (2 Chronicles 27:2; 2 Chronicles 29-31); but the eye of Isaiah saw below the surface. In “the word of the Lord,” and “the law of our God,” we have two different aspects of the revelation of the Divine will. The first is the prophetic message of the prophet; the second points primarily, perhaps, to the law given by Moses, but also includes, as in Psalm 19:7, Psalms 119:1, Isaiah 42:4, Isaiah 42:24, and Isaiah 51:7, all forms of direct ethical teaching, especially, perhaps, those actually based upon the law or Torah as a text.