New International Version
Isaiah 47:14
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.
Isaiah 47:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before!
- New Living Translation (NLT)But they are like straw burning in a fire; they cannot save themselves from the flame. You will get no help from them at all; their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
Context of Isaiah 47:14
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. 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. Surely 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. 15That is all they are to you— these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you.
Read all of Isaiah 47Isaiah 47:14 word by word
הִנֵּ֨ה הָי֤וּ כְקַשׁ֙ אֵ֣שׁ שְׂרָפָ֔תַם לֹֽא־יַצִּ֥ילוּ אֶת־נַפְשָׁ֖ם מִיַּ֣ד לֶֽהָבָ֑ה אֵין־גַּחֶ֣לֶת לַחְמָ֔ם א֖וּר לָשֶׁ֥בֶת נֶגְדּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Behold, they shall be as stubbleקַשׁqash · stubbleH7179
- the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- shall burnשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- them; they shall not deliverנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
- themselvesנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
- from the powerיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- of the flameלֶהָבָהlehâbâh lahebeth · flameH3852
- a coalגַּחֶ֫לֶתgechel gacheleth · coalH1513
- to warmחָמַםchâmam · to warmH2552
- fireאוּר'ûr · flameH217
- to sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
Cross-references for Isaiah 47:14
- Isaiah 40:24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
- Isaiah 41:2“Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
- Ezekiel 15:7I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.
- Psalms 83:13Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind.
- Joel 2:5With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
- Obadiah 1:18Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken.
- Nahum 1:10They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble.
- Malachi 4:1“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
- Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 16:26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
- Isaiah 30:14It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.”
- Jeremiah 51:25“I am against you, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,” declares the Lord. “I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.
- Revelation 18:21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
Commentaries on Isaiah 47:14
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Behold, they shall be as stubble - They shall be no more able to resist the judgments which are coming upon the city, than dry stubble can resist the action of the fire. A similar figure is used in Isaiah 1:31 (see the notes at that verse). Compare also Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:30, where fire is a symbol of the devouring judgments of God. They shall not deliver themselves - Margin, as Hebrew, Their souls.‘ The meaning is, that they would be unable to…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. 1414. (Is 29:6; 30:30). not ... a coal--Like stubble, they shall burn to a dead ash, without leaving a live coal or cinder (compare Is 30:14), so utterly shall they be destroyed.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 47:14
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
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