New International Version
Isaiah 47:12
12“Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
Isaiah 47:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Stand 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Now use your magical charms! Use the spells you have worked at all these years! Maybe they will do you some good. Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
Context of Isaiah 47:12
10You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’ 11Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror. 13All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. 14Surely 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.
Read all of Isaiah 47Isaiah 47:12 word by word
עִמְדִי־נָ֤א בַחֲבָרַ֙יִךְ֙ וּבְרֹ֣ב כְּשָׁפַ֔יִךְ בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר יָגַ֖עַתְּ מִנְּעוּרָ֑יִךְ אוּלַ֛י תּוּכְלִ֥י הוֹעִ֖יל אוּלַ֥י תַּעֲרֽוֹצִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- now with thine enchantmentsחֶ֫בֶרcheber · spellH2267
- and with the multitudeרֹבrôb · abundanceH7230
- of thy sorceriesכֶּ֫שֶׁףkesheph · sorceryH3785
- whereinבַאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · in whichH834
- thou hast labouredיָגֵעַyâga‛ · be weary/toilH3021
- from thy youthנְעוּרִיםnâ‛ûr nâ‛ûr ne‛ûrâh · youthH5271
- if so be thou shalt be ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- to profitיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
- if so be thou mayest prevailעָרַץ‛ârats · to trembleH6206
Cross-references for Isaiah 47:12
- Isaiah 47:9Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells.
- Isaiah 8:19When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Isaiah 19:3The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
- Isaiah 44:25who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,
- Exodus 7:11Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts:
- Exodus 8:7But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 9:11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.
- Jeremiah 2:28Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns.
- Daniel 5:7The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
- Nahum 3:4all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
- Acts 13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
- Revelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
Commentaries on Isaiah 47:12
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Stand now with thy enchantments - (See the notes at Isaiah 47:9). This is evidently sarcastic and ironical. It is a call on those who practiced the arts of magic to stand forth, and to show whether they were able to defend the city, and to save the nation. Wherein thou hast labored - Or in practicing which thou hast been diligently employed. From thy youth - From the very commencement of thy national existence. Babylon was always distinguished for these…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. 1212. Stand--forth: a scornful challenge to Babylon's magicians to show whether they can defend their city. laboured--The devil's service is a laborious yet fruitless one (Is 55:2).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 47:12
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries