Isaiah 47:11

Isaiah 47:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
• New International Version (NIV)Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.

Context of Isaiah 47:11

9But these two things shall come to you abruptly, in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many [claims of power through your] sorceries, In spite of the great power of your enchantments. 10For you [Babylon] have trusted and felt confident in your wickedness; you have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray, And you have said in your heart (mind), ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ Therefore disaster will come on you; You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic]. And disaster will fall on you For which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods]; And destruction about which you do not know Will come on you suddenly. 12“Persist, then, [Babylon] in your enchantments And your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit [from them], Perhaps you may prevail and cause trembling. 13You are wearied by your many counsels. Just let the astrologers, The stargazers, Those who predict by the new moons [each month] Stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you [Babylon].

Isaiah 47:11 word by word

וּבָ֧א עָלַ֣יִךְ רָעָ֗ה לֹ֤א תֵדְעִי֙ שַׁחְרָ֔הּ וְתִפֹּ֤ל עָלַ֙יִךְ֙ הֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א תוּכְלִ֖י כַּפְּרָ֑הּ וְתָבֹ֨א עָלַ֧יִךְ פִּתְאֹ֛ם שׁוֹאָ֖ה לֹ֥א תֵדָֽעִי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore shall evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• upon thee; thou shalt not knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• from whence it risethשַׁ֫חַרshachar · dawnH7837
• and mischiefהֹוָהhôvâh · misfortuneH1943
• shall fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• upon thee; thou shalt not be ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to put it offכִּפֶּרkâphar · to atoneH3722
• and desolationשׁוֹאָהshô' shô'âh shô'âh · devastationH7722
• upon thee suddenlyפִּתְאֹםpith'ôm pith'ôm · suddenlyH6597

Cross-references for Isaiah 47:11

• Isaiah 37:36And the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the [surviving] men got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead.
• Exodus 12:29Now it happened at midnight that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
• Nehemiah 4:11Our enemies said, “They will not know or see us until we are among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.”
• Revelation 3:3So remember and take to heart the lessons you have received and heard. Keep and obey them, and repent [change your sinful way of thinking, and demonstrate your repentance with new behavior that proves a conscious decision to turn away from sin]. So then, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
• Psalms 50:22“Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to rescue [you].
• Jeremiah 51:39When they are inflamed [with wine and lust during their drinking bouts], I will prepare them a feast [of My wrath] And make them drunk, that they may rejoice And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
• Daniel 5:25“This is the inscription that was written, ‘mene, mene, tekel, upharsin [numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided].’
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3While they are saying, “Peace and safety [all is well and secure!]” then [in a moment unforeseen] destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains on a woman with child, and they will absolutely not escape [for there will be no way to escape the judgment of the Lord].
• Revelation 18:9“And the kings and political leaders of the earth, who committed immorality and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and beat their chests [in mourning] over her when they see the smoke of her burning,
• Matthew 18:34And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (jailers) until he paid all that he owed.
• Luke 12:59I say to you, you [absolutely] will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 47:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth "Thou shalt not know how to deprecate" - שחרה shachrah ; so the Chaldee renders it, which is approved by Jarchi on the place; and Michaelis Epim. in Praelect. xix.; see Psalm 78:34. Videtur in fine hujus commatis deese verbum, ut hoc membrum prioribus respondeat. "A word appears to be wanting at the end of this clause to connect it properly with the two preceding." - Secker. In order to set in a proper light this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Therefore shall evil come upon thee - In consequence of thy pride and self-confidence; of the prevalence of corruption, licentiousness, and sin; of the prevalence of the arts of magic and of divination abounding there; and of the cruel and unfeeling oppression of the people of God; for all these crimes ruin shall come certainly and suddenly upon thee. Thou shalt not know from whence it cometh - Margin, The morning thereof.‘ The margin expresses the true…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-15Verses 7-15 Let us beware of acting and speaking as Babylon did; of trusting in tyranny and oppression; of boasting as to our abilities, relying on ourselves, and ascribing success to our own prudence and wisdom; lest we partake of her plagues. Those in the height of prosperity, are apt to fancy themselves out of the reach of adversity. It is also common for sinners to think they shall be safe, because they think to be secret in wicked ways. But their…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-11Babylon was known for its confidence and arrogance (see Isaiah 14:13–17; Daniel 4:30). The nation's charms, magic, and wisdom could not stop the disaster planned for it.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. from whence it riseth--Hebrew, "the dawn thereof," that is, its first rising. Evil shall come on thee without the least previous intimation [Rosenmuller]. But dawn is not applied to "evil," but to prosperity shining out after misery (Is 21:12). Translate, "Thou shall not see any dawn" (of alleviation) [Maurer]. put ... off--rather, as Margin, "remove by expiation"; it shall be never ending. not know--unawares: which thou dost not apprehend. Proving…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 47:11

• Infidelity
• Sorcery
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Sport
• Wroth
• Isaiah
• Magic; Magician
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Saviour

Commentaries on Isaiah 47

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings