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 both of those things will happen to you! They will happen suddenly, in only one day. You will lose your children and you will become a widow. All these troubles will come to hurt you. You can use all your powerful magic but you will not stop this trouble! 10You thought that your evil deeds would keep you safe. You said, “Nobody sees me!” You think that you are very wise and that you know everything. But your wisdom has deceived you. You say, “Here I am! There is nobody as good as I am.” But trouble will suddenly come to you. Your magic words will not stop it. Trouble will come and destroy you. You cannot pay anyone to take it away. It will suddenly hit you, before you even recognize it. 12So continue with your magic, if you want to. Say your magic words. You have always used that magic, since you were young. Perhaps your magic will help you. Perhaps you will frighten your enemies! 13You receive a lot of advice, and it has made you become tired. Let your advisors come and stand there. They study the sky and the stars to decide what will happen. They say what will happen each month. So let them come and help you! See if they can rescue you from the trouble that is coming!

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 37:36Then the Lord's angel went to the camp of the Assyrian army. He killed 185,000 of their soldiers. When people got up in the morning, they saw all those dead bodies!
• Exodus 12:29At midnight, the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt. The firstborn son of Pharaoh, the king, died. But also, the firstborn son of any man who was in prison died. Every firstborn son in Egypt died. All the firstborn animals also died.
• Nehemiah 4:11At the same time, our enemies were boasting, ‘Before the Jews even see us, we will attack them. We will kill them before they know what is happening. That will be the end of their work on the wall!’
• Revelation 3:3So remember God's message that you have heard. Obey what God has said. Turn away from the wrong things that you do. Change the way that you live. If you do not wake up, I will come to punish you. I will come secretly, like someone who robs people. So you will not know what time I will come to you.
• Psalms 50:22So think carefully about this, all you people who have turned away from me. If not, I will tear you into pieces, and nobody will be able to save you.
• Jeremiah 51:39While they are feeling so hungry, I will prepare a feast for them. I will cause them to become drunk, and they will become helpless. They will sleep for ever and they will never wake up again.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Daniel 5:25These are the words: Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3At that time, people will be saying, ‘We are safe and there is no trouble for us.’ But then, when they are not ready for it, great punishment will suddenly happen to them. It will be impossible for them to run away. Pain will suddenly come to them, like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.
• Revelation 18:9When all that happens, the kings on the earth will be very sad. They enjoyed the bad things that people did in that city. They had many expensive things so that they were happy. Now they will see the smoke from the fire that burns the city. As a result, they will cry and they will weep.
• Matthew 18:34The king was very angry with the first servant. He told his men to put him in prison. They punished the servant there very much, until he could pay all his debt to the king.’
• Luke 12:59I tell you. You will remain in prison until you have paid all the money, even the last small coin.’

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