English Standard Version
Isaiah 47:14
14Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!
Isaiah 47:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
- New International Version (NIV)Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before!
- New Living Translation (NLT)But they are like straw burning in a fire; they cannot save themselves from the flame. You will get no help from them at all; their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
Context of Isaiah 47:14
12Stand 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. 13You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! 15Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.
Read all of Isaiah 47Isaiah 47:14 word by word
הִנֵּ֨ה הָי֤וּ כְקַשׁ֙ אֵ֣שׁ שְׂרָפָ֔תַם לֹֽא־יַצִּ֥ילוּ אֶת־נַפְשָׁ֖ם מִיַּ֣ד לֶֽהָבָ֑ה אֵין־גַּחֶ֣לֶת לַחְמָ֔ם א֖וּר לָשֶׁ֥בֶת נֶגְדּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Behold, they shall be as stubbleקַשׁqash · stubbleH7179
- the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- shall burnשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- them; they shall not deliverנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
- themselvesנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
- from the powerיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- of the flameלֶהָבָהlehâbâh lahebeth · flameH3852
- a coalגַּחֶ֫לֶתgechel gacheleth · coalH1513
- to warmחָמַםchâmam · to warmH2552
- fireאוּר'ûr · flameH217
- to sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
Cross-references for Isaiah 47:14
- Isaiah 40:24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
- Isaiah 41:2Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.
- Ezekiel 15:7And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
- Psalms 83:13O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
- Joel 2:5As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.
- Obadiah 1:18The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.
- Nahum 1:10For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
- Malachi 4:1"For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
- Matthew 10:28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 16:26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
- Isaiah 30:14and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern."
- Jeremiah 51:25"Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain.
- Revelation 18:21Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;
Commentaries on Isaiah 47:14
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Behold, they shall be as stubble - They shall be no more able to resist the judgments which are coming upon the city, than dry stubble can resist the action of the fire. A similar figure is used in Isaiah 1:31 (see the notes at that verse). Compare also Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:30, where fire is a symbol of the devouring judgments of God. They shall not deliver themselves - Margin, as Hebrew, Their souls.‘ The meaning is, that they would be unable to…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. 1414. (Is 29:6; 30:30). not ... a coal--Like stubble, they shall burn to a dead ash, without leaving a live coal or cinder (compare Is 30:14), so utterly shall they be destroyed.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 47:14
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries