English Standard Version
Isaiah 7:20
20In 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.
Context of Isaiah 7:20
18In 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. 19And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures. 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. 21In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- In the same dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- shall the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- shaveגָּלַחgâlach · to shaveH1548
- with a razorתַּ֫עַרta‛ar · razorH8593
- that is hiredשְׂכִירָהώekîyrâh · hiredH7917
- by them beyondעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
- the riverנָהָרnâhâr · RiverH5104
- by the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- and the hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
- of the feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- and it shall also consumeסָפָהsâphâh · to snatchH5595
- the beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
Cross-references for Isaiah 7:20
- Isaiah 10:6Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- 2 Kings 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me."
- 2 Chronicles 28:20So Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.
- Jeremiah 27:6Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him.
- Ezekiel 5:1"And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber's razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair.
- Ezekiel 29:18"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her.
- Isaiah 1:5Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- Isaiah 9:14So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day—
- Isaiah 24:2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, 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 creditor, so with the debtor.
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries