New International Version
Isaiah 31:2
2Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers.
Isaiah 31:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity.
- New Living Translation (NLT)In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers.
Context of Isaiah 31:2
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. 3But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together. 4This is what the Lord says to me: “As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey— and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor— so the Lord Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Read all of Isaiah 31Isaiah 31:2 word by word
וְגַם־ה֤וּא חָכָם֙ וַיָּ֣בֵא רָ֔ע וְאֶת־דְּבָרָ֖יו לֹ֣א הֵסִ֑יר וְקָם֙ עַל־בֵּ֣ית מְרֵעִ֔ים וְעַל־עֶזְרַ֖ת פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
- and will bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
- and will not call backסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: turn asideH5493
- his wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- but will ariseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- against the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of the evildoersרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
- and against the helpעֶזְרָה‛ezrâh ‛ezrâth · helpH5833
- of them that workפָּעַלpâ‛al · to workH6466
- iniquityאָ֫וֶן'âven · evil: wickednessH205
Cross-references for Isaiah 31:2
- 1 Samuel 2:3“Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
- Job 5:13He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
- Jeremiah 10:7Who should not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
- Jude 1:25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
- Isaiah 30:13this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
- Isaiah 45:7I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.
- Joshua 23:15But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you.
- Amos 3:6When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?
- Numbers 23:19God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
- Jeremiah 36:32So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
- Jeremiah 44:29“ ‘This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.’
- Zechariah 1:6But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? “Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’ ”
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
- Isaiah 28:21The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon— to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
- Isaiah 63:4It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come.
Commentaries on Isaiah 31:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2His words "His word" - דברו debaro, singular, without י yod, two MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's the Septuagint, and Targ. Hieros. דרכיו derachaiv, his ways, is found in one MS.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Yet he also is wise - God is wise. It is in vain to attempt to deceive him, or to accomplish such purposes without his knowledge. And will bring evil - The punishment which is due to such want of confidence in him. But will arise against the house of the evil-doers - This is a general proposition, and it is evidently just as true now as it was in the time of Isaiah.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Isaiah delivered another vision regarding Judah’s negotiations with Egypt, which probably took place in 705–701 BC. During that time, the conquering Assyrians were on the move, threatening Judah. At first, Hezekiah tried political and military means to avert being totally conquered (see 2 Kings 18:13–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. he also is wise--as well as the Egyptian priests, so famed for wisdom (Ac 7:22), but who are "fools" before Him (Is 19:11). He not only devises, but executes what He devises without "calling back His words" (Nu 23:19). home--the whole race. help--the Egyptian succor sought by the Jews.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 31:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 31
- 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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