New English Translation
Isaiah 29:4
4You will fall; while lying on the ground you will speak; from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.
Isaiah 29:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
- New International Version (NIV)Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium’s, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Context of Isaiah 29:4
2I will threaten Ariel, and she will mourn intensely and become like an altar hearth before me. 3I will lay siege to you on all sides; I will besiege you with troops; I will raise siege works against you. You will fall; while lying on the ground you will speak; from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. 5But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust, the horde of tyrants like chaff that is blown away. It will happen suddenly, in a flash. 6Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.
Read all of Isaiah 29Isaiah 29:4 word by word
וְשָׁפַלְתְּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ תְּדַבֵּ֔רִי וּמֵֽעָפָ֖ר תִּשַּׁ֣ח אִמְרָתֵ֑ךְ וְֽ֠הָיָה כְּא֤וֹב מֵאֶ֙רֶץ֙ קוֹלֵ֔ךְ וּמֵעָפָ֖ר אִמְרָתֵ֥ךְ תְּצַפְצֵֽף׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt be brought downשָׁפֵלshâphêl · to abaseH8213
- shalt speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- out of the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and thy speechאִמְרָה'imrâh 'emrâh · wordH565
- shall be lowשָׁחַחshâchach · to bowH7817
- out of the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- and thy voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spiritאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
- out of the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- shall whisperצָפַףtsâphaph · to whisperH6850
Cross-references for Isaiah 29:4
- Isaiah 2:11Proud men will be brought low, arrogant men will be humiliated; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isaiah 3:8Jerusalem certainly stumbles, Judah falls, for their words and their actions offend the Lord; they rebel against his royal authority.
- Isaiah 51:23I will put it into the hand of your tormentors who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’ You made your back like the ground, and like the street for those who walked over you.”
- Psalms 44:25For we lie in the dirt, with our bellies pressed to the ground.
- Lamentations 1:9Her menstrual flow has soiled her clothing; she did not consider the consequences of her sin. Her demise was astonishing, and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look, O Lord, on my affliction because my enemy boasts!” י (Yod)
- Isaiah 8:19They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?”
Commentaries on Isaiah 29:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And thy speech shall be low out of the dust "And from out of the dust thou shalt utter a feeble speech" - That the souls of the dead uttered a feeble stridulous sound, very different from the natural human voice, was a popular notion among the heathens as well as among the Jews. This appears from several passages of their poets; Homer, Virgil, Horace. The pretenders to the art of necromancy, who were chiefly women, had an art of speaking with a feigned…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And shalt speak out of the ground - (see the note at Isaiah 8:19). The sense here is, that Jerusalem, that had been accustomed to pride itself on its strength I would be greatly humbled and subdued. Its loud and lofty tone would be changed. It would use the suppressed language of fear and alarm as if it spoke from the dust, or in a shrill small voice, like the pretended conversers with the dead. And thy speech shall whisper out of the dust - Margin…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4God aimed to destroy the sinful pride of Jerusalem's people. Their voices would rise as if from the grave. Through the Assyrians, God would humble his people, but he would not abandon them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Jerusalem shall be as a captive, humbled to the dust. Her voice shall come from the earth as that of the spirit-charmers or necromancers (Is 8:19), faint and shrill, as the voice of the dead was supposed to be. Ventriloquism was doubtless the trick caused to make the voice appear to come from the earth (Is 19:3). An appropriate retribution that Jerusalem, which consulted necromancers, should be made like them!Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 29:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 29
- 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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