New Living Translation
Isaiah 29:4
4Then deep from the earth you will speak; from low in the dust your words will come. Your voice will whisper from the ground like a ghost conjured up from the grave.
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
2Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means— an altar covered with blood. 3I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it. Then deep from the earth you will speak; from low in the dust your words will come. Your voice will whisper from the ground like a ghost conjured up from the grave. 5“But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant, 6I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming 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 2:11Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.
- Isaiah 3:8For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.
- Isaiah 51:23Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors, those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust and walk on your backs.’”
- Psalms 44:25We collapse in the dust, lying face down in the dirt.
- Lamentations 1:9She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. “Lord, see my misery,” she cries. “The enemy has triumphed.”
- Isaiah 8:19Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
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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