Isaiah 47:12

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

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.” 11But 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. So 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! 14But they are as useless as straw that quickly burns in a fire. They cannot save themselves, because the fire is too hot! This is not a nice fire to sit beside and enjoy the heat.

Isaiah 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 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!
• Isaiah 8:19They will say to you, ‘Go to the people who speak to the spirits of dead people. Go to the magicians who speak magic words. They will tell you what you should do. People should ask their gods and spirits to give them messages. People who are alive should ask the spirits of dead people to help them.’
• Isaiah 19:3The Egyptians will become afraid, so that they do not know what to do. They will ask for help from their idols. They will ask the spirits of dead people to tell them what to do. They will ask magicians to talk to those spirits on their behalf.
• Isaiah 44:25I show that the false prophets speak useless messages. I show that those who use magic to say what will happen are fools. I cause the ideas of wise people to become useless. People think that their advice is foolish.
• Exodus 7:11Then Pharaoh called for his wise men and his magicians to come to him. The Egyptian magicians did the same thing as Aaron. They used their secret magic to do it.
• Exodus 8:7But the magicians used their magic to do the same thing. They also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
• Exodus 9:11All the Egyptians had boils, even the magicians. Because of the boils, the magicians could not stand in front of Moses.
• Jeremiah 2:28But where are the gods that you made for yourselves? Ask them to save you when trouble comes! You have enough gods to give you help. Yes, people of Judah, your gods are as many as your towns!
• Daniel 5:7The king called for his enchanters, his wise men and his diviners to come. When they arrived, the king said to them, ‘Who can read these words? Who can tell me what they mean? Whoever can do that, I will make him great. I will put valuable purple clothes on him and he will have a gold chain around his neck. I will make him the third ruler in the kingdom.’
• Nahum 3:4This is because Nineveh has sold herself to the enemies of God. She is like a beautiful prostitute. She uses her body and her bad magic to make all the people in other countries her slaves.
• Acts 13:8Bar-Jesus was also called Elymas. That was his name in the Greek language. He did not like what Barnabas and Saul were saying. He did not want Sergius Paulus to believe in Jesus. So he tried to stop him.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:9When the enemy of God appears, he will be doing Satan's work. Satan will give him the power to do great things and miracles that are false.
• Revelation 17:4The woman was wearing clothes that were made from expensive cloth. She also wore bright things that made her look beautiful. She shone with gold, valuable stones and pearls. She held a gold cup in her hand. The cup was full of the bad and disgusting things that she had caused people to do.

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

• Idolatry
• Sorcery

In the dictionaries

• Enchantments
• Sport
• Wroth
• Enchantment
• 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