Amplified Bible
Isaiah 47:12
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.
Isaiah 47:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
- New International Version (NIV)“Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail.
Context of Isaiah 47:12
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.’ 11Therefore 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. “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]. 14In fact, they are like stubble; Fire burns them. They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame [much less save the nation], There is no blazing coal for warming Nor fire before which to sit!
Read all of Isaiah 47Isaiah 47:12 word by word
עִמְדִי־נָ֤א בַחֲבָרַ֙יִךְ֙ וּבְרֹ֣ב כְּשָׁפַ֔יִךְ בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר יָגַ֖עַתְּ מִנְּעוּרָ֑יִךְ אוּלַ֛י תּוּכְלִ֥י הוֹעִ֖יל אוּלַ֥י תַּעֲרֽוֹצִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- now with thine enchantmentsחֶ֫בֶרcheber · spellH2267
- and with the multitudeרֹבrôb · abundanceH7230
- of thy sorceriesכֶּ֫שֶׁףkesheph · sorceryH3785
- whereinבַאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · in whichH834
- thou hast labouredיָגֵעַyâga‛ · be weary/toilH3021
- from thy youthנְעוּרִיםnâ‛ûr nâ‛ûr ne‛ûrâh · youthH5271
- if so be thou shalt be ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- to profitיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
- if so be thou mayest prevailעָרַץ‛ârats · to trembleH6206
Cross-references for Isaiah 47:12
- Isaiah 47:9But 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.
- Isaiah 8:19When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Isaiah 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, And mediums and soothsayers.
- Isaiah 44:25Frustrating the signs and confounding the omens of boasters (false prophets), Making fools out of fortune-tellers, Counteracting the wise And making their knowledge ridiculous,
- Exodus 7:11Then Pharaoh called for the wise men [skilled in magic and omens] and the sorcerers [skilled in witchcraft], and they also, these magicians (soothsayer-priests) of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts and enchantments.
- Exodus 8:7But the magicians (soothsayer-priests) did the same thing with their secret arts and enchantments, and brought up [more] frogs on the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 9:11The magicians (soothsayer-priests) could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.
- Jeremiah 2:28But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them get up, if they can save you In the time of your trouble! For [as many as] the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah. [Why do not your many man-made idols run to help you?]
- Daniel 5:7The king called aloud to bring in the enchanters (Magi), the Chaldeans [who were master astrologers] and the diviners. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold put around his neck, and have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”
- Nahum 3:4All because of the many acts of prostitution of [Nineveh] the prostitute, The charming and well-favored one, the mistress of sorceries, Who betrays nations by her acts of prostitution (idolatry) And families by her sorceries.
- Acts 13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from accepting the faith.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies],
- Revelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality.
Commentaries on Isaiah 47:12
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Stand now with thy enchantments - (See the notes at Isaiah 47:9). This is evidently sarcastic and ironical. It is a call on those who practiced the arts of magic to stand forth, and to show whether they were able to defend the city, and to save the nation. Wherein thou hast labored - Or in practicing which thou hast been diligently employed. From thy youth - From the very commencement of thy national existence. Babylon was always distinguished for these…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. 12-15When disaster struck, Babylon turned to occult practices for help, but found none.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Stand--forth: a scornful challenge to Babylon's magicians to show whether they can defend their city. laboured--The devil's service is a laborious yet fruitless one (Is 55:2).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 47:12
In the dictionaries
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
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