New Living Translation
Isaiah 47:12
12“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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)“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.
- 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.
Context of Isaiah 47:12
10“You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’ 11So disaster will overtake you, and you won’t be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won’t be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared. “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. 13All the advice you receive has made you tired. Where are all your astrologers, those stargazers who make predictions each month? Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds. 14But 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.
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 47:9Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
- 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?
- Isaiah 19:3The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.
- Isaiah 44:25I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.
- Exodus 7:11Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic.
- Exodus 8:7But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 9:11Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.
- Jeremiah 2:28But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.
- Daniel 5:7The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will have a gold chain placed around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!”
- Nahum 3:4All this because Nineveh, the beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She taught them all her magic, enchanting people everywhere.
- Acts 13:8But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
- Revelation 17:4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.
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
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