English Standard Version
Isaiah 9:20
20They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm,
Isaiah 9:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
- New International Version (NIV)On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring:
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he shall snatch on the right hand And be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They will attack their neighbor on the right but will still be hungry. They will devour their neighbor on the left but will not be satisfied. In the end they will even eat their own children.
Context of Isaiah 9:20
18For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke. 19Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another. They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm, 21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
Read all of Isaiah 9Isaiah 9:20 word by word
וַיִּגְזֹ֤ר עַל־יָמִין֙ וְרָעֵ֔ב וַיֹּ֥אכַל עַל־שְׂמֹ֖אול וְלֹ֣א שָׂבֵ֑עוּ אִ֥ישׁ בְּשַׂר־זְרֹע֖וֹ יֹאכֵֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he shall snatchגָּזַרgâzar · to cutH1504
- on the right handיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
- and be hungryרָעֵבrâ‛êb · hungryH7457
- and he shall eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- on the left handשְׂמֹאלώemô'l ώem'ôl · leftH8040
- and they shall not be satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
- every manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- the fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- of his own armזְרוֹעַzerôa‛ zerôa‛ zerô‛âh zerô‛âh · armH2220
Cross-references for Isaiah 9:20
- Isaiah 49:26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
- Leviticus 26:26When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
- Jeremiah 19:9And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.'
- Lamentations 4:10The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Commentaries on Isaiah 9:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The flesh of his own arm "The flesh of his neighbor" - " , the Septuagint Alexand. Duplex versio, quarum altera legit רעו reo, quae vox extat, Jeremiah 6:21. Nam רע rea, , Genesis 43:33. Recte ni fallor." - Secker. I add to this excellent remark, that the Chaldee manifestly reads רעו reo, his neighbor, not זרעו zeroo, his arm; for he renders it by קריביה karibeyh, his neighbor. And Jeremiah has the very same expression: יאכלו רעהו בשר ואיש veish besar…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20And he shall snatch - Hebrew, He shall cut off.‘ Many have supposed that this refers to a state of famine; but others regard it as descriptive of a state of faction extending throughout the whole community, dissolving the most tender ties, arid producing a dissolution of all the bonds of life. The context Isaiah 9:19, Isaiah 9:21 shows, that the latter is meant; though it is not improbable that it would be attended with famine. When it is said that he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-21Verses 8-21 Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-21After the leaders were destroyed, the nation would fall into chaos. With no strong leadership, people would turn against one another. Civil war would then destroy the nation. It would spread quickly and cause great damage, like a brushfire that no one can control.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2118-21. Third strophe. burneth--maketh consumption, not only spreading rapidly, but also consuming like fire: sin is its own punishment. briers ... thorns--emblem of the wicked; especially those of low rank (Is 27:4; 2Sa 23:6). forest--from the humble shrubbery the flame spreads to the vast forest; it reaches the high, as well as the low. mount up like ... smoke--rather. "They (the thickets of the forest) shall lift themselves proudly aloft [the Hebrew is…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 9:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 9
- 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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