Darby Bible
Isaiah 7:20
20In that day will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away.
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
18And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly which is at the extremity of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria; 19and they shall come and settle all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and on all thorn-bushes, and on all the pastures. In that day will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away. 21And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep, 22and it shall come to pass, from the abundance of milk they shall give, [that] he shall eat butter; for every one that remaineth in the midst of the land shall eat butter and honey.
Read all of Isaiah 7Isaiah 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
- dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- razorתַּ֫עַרta‛ar · razorH8593
- riverנָהָרnâhâr · RiverH5104
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- shaveגָּלַחgâlach · to shaveH1548
- headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
- feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
- alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- awayסָפָהsâphâh · to snatchH5595
Cross-references for Isaiah 7:20
- Isaiah 10:6I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge; to take the spoil, and to seize the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- 2 Kings 16:7And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who have risen up against me.
- 2 Chronicles 28:20And Tilgath-Pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and troubled him, and did not support him.
- Jeremiah 27:6And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him.
- Ezekiel 5:1And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife; a barber's razor shalt thou take; and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take balances to weigh, and divide the [hair].
- Ezekiel 29:18Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to do hard service against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he from Tyre no wages, nor his army, for the service that he had served against it.
- Isaiah 1:5Why should ye be smitten any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- Isaiah 9:14And Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day:
- Isaiah 24:2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with him from whom usury is taken.
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
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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