Isaiah 7:20

Isaiah 7:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
• New International Version (NIV)In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard.

Context of Isaiah 7:20

18In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the mouth of the rivers and canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places. In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned]. 21Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep; 22and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat [only] curds and [wild] honey.

Isaiah 7:20 word by word

בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יְגַלַּ֣ח אֲדֹנָי֩ בְּתַ֨עַר הַשְּׂכִירָ֜ה בְּעֶבְרֵ֤י נָהָר֙ בְּמֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר אֶת־הָרֹ֖אשׁ וְשַׂ֣עַר הָרַגְלָ֑יִם וְגַ֥ם אֶת־הַזָּקָ֖ן תִּסְפֶּֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• In the same dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• shall the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• shaveגָּלַחgâlach · to shaveH1548
• with a razorתַּ֫עַרta‛ar · razorH8593
• that is hiredשְׂכִירָהώekîyrâh · hiredH7917
• by them beyondעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
• the riverנָהָרnâhâr · RiverH5104
• by the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• and the hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
• of the feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
• and it shall also consumeסָפָהsâphâh · to snatchH5595
• the beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206

Cross-references for Isaiah 7:20

• Isaiah 10:6I send Assyria against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My wrath To take the spoil and to seize the plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets.
• 2 Kings 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the kings of Aram and of Israel, who are rising up against me.”
• 2 Chronicles 28:20So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and harassed him instead of strengthening and supporting him.
• Jeremiah 27:6Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant and instrument, and I have also given the wild animals of the field to serve him.
• Ezekiel 5:1“And you [Ezekiel], son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor and shave your head and your beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair [into three parts].
• Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”
• Isaiah 1:5Why should you be stricken and punished again [since no change results from it]? You [only] continue to rebel. The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint and sick.
• Isaiah 9:14Therefore the Lord cuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel, Both [the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day.
• Isaiah 24:2And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor [as God’s impartial judgment of sin comes on all].

Commentaries on Isaiah 7:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The river - That is, the Euphrates: הנהר hanahar . So read the Septuagint and two MSS. Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired "Jehovah shall shave by the hired razor" - To shave with the hired razor the head, the feet, and the beard, is an expression highly parabolical, to denote the utter devastation of the country from one end to the other; and the plundering of the people, from the highest to the lowest, by the Assyrians, whom God employed as…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20In the same day … - The idea in this verse is the same as in the preceding, though presented in a different form. The meaning is, that “God” would bring upon them this punishment, but that he would make use of the Assyrian as an “instrument” by which to do it. Shave - The act of shaving off the hair denotes punishment or disgrace; compare 2 Samuel 10:4: Hanun took David‘s servants, and shaved off one half of their beards;‘ 1 Chronicles 19:4. With a razor…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 Let those who will not believe the promises of God, expect to hear the alarms of his threatenings; for who can resist or escape his judgments? The Lord shall sweep all away; and whomsoever he employs in any service for him, he will pay. All speaks a sad change of the face of that pleasant land. But what melancholy change is there, which sin will not make with a people? Agriculture would cease. Sorrows of every kind will come upon all who…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well: In the ancient Near East, forced shaving was a disgraceful act (see 2 Samuel 10:4–5). Here, it served as a metaphor for the destruction of the country.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. razor--The Assyrians are to be God's instrument of devastating Judea, just as a razor sweeps away all hair before it (Is 10:5; Eze 29:19, 20). hired--alluding to Ahaz' hiring (2Ki 16:7, 8) Tiglath-pileser against Syria and Israel; namely, by them beyond the river--namely, the Euphrates; the eastern boundary of Jewish geographical knowledge (Psa 72:8); the river which Abram crossed; the Nile also may be included (Is 7:18) [G. V. Smith]. Gesenius…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 7:20

• Ahaz
• Art
• Assyria
• Beard
• Hypocrisy
• Isaiah
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Razor

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Euphrates River, the River
• Ahaz
• Confederate
• Fainthearted
• Hair
• Alliance
• Commentaries
• Consume

Commentaries on Isaiah 7

• 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