Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 7:18
18On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
Isaiah 7:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
- New International Version (NIV)In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will whistle for the fly That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
Context of Isaiah 7:18
16For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.” On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria. 19And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes and watering holes. 20On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.
Read all of Isaiah 7Isaiah 7:18 word by word
וְהָיָ֣ה׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִשְׁרֹ֤ק יְהוָה֙ לַזְּב֔וּב אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּקְצֵ֖ה יְאֹרֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם וְלַ֨דְּבוֹרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֥רֶץ אַשּֽׁוּר׃Read the interlinear
- ·הָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- On thatהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- will whistleשָׁרַקshâraq · to whistleH8319
- to the fliesזְבוּבzebûb · flyH2070
- ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- at the farthestקָצֶהqâtseh qêtseh · endH7097
- streamsיְאֹרye'ôr · streamH2975
- of the Nileמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- and to the beesדְּבוֹרָהdebôrâh debôrâh · beeH1682
- in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
Cross-references for Isaiah 7:18
- Isaiah 5:26He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
- Isaiah 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- Exodus 8:21But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.
- Deuteronomy 1:44Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
- Deuteronomy 7:20Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
- Joshua 24:12I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
- Psalms 118:12They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- Isaiah 7:17The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.”
- 2 Kings 23:33And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned Jehoahaz at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he could not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Commentaries on Isaiah 7:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Hiss for the fly "Hist the fly" - See note on Isaiah 5:26. Egypt, and - Assyria - Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Pharaoh-necho, and Nebuchadnezzar, who one after another desolated Judea.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18In that day the Lord shall hiss - see the note at Isaiah 5:26. For the fly - That is, for the army, or the multitude of people. The comparison of a numerous army with “flies” is not uncommon; see Homer‘s “Iliad,” B. ii. 469, etc. - Thick as insects play, The wandering nation of a summer‘s day. That, drawn by milky streams at evening hours In gathered swarms surround the rural bowers; From pail to pail with busy murmur run The gilded legions, glittering in…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. 18-25The phrase on that day refers to the future Day of the LORD, when God acts to judge and to save. Judah would first experience the judgment Isaiah had announced. This would be a warning of a greater judgment still to come. That greater judgment was the exile in Babylon from 586 to 538 BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. hiss--whistle, to bring bees to settle (see on Is 5:26). fly--found in numbers about the arms of the Nile and the canals from it (Is 19:5-7; 23:3), here called "rivers." Hence arose the plague of flies (Ex 8:21). Figurative, for numerous and troublesome foes from the remotest parts of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh-nechoh. bee--(De 1:44; Psa 118:12). As numerous in Assyria as the fly in marshy Egypt. Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, and Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 7:18
In the dictionaries
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
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