Isaiah 7:18

Isaiah 7:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
• New International Version (NIV)In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will whistle for the fly That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

Context of Isaiah 7:18

16For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted. 17“Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!” In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. 19They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. 20In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.

Isaiah 7:18 word by word

וְהָיָ֣ה׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִשְׁרֹ֤ק יְהוָה֙ לַזְּב֔וּב אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּקְצֵ֖ה יְאֹרֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם וְלַ֨דְּבוֹרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֥רֶץ אַשּֽׁוּר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall come to pass in that dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• shall hissשָׁרַקshâraq · to whistleH8319
• for the flyזְבוּבzebûb · flyH2070
• in the uttermost partקָצֶהqâtseh qêtseh · endH7097
• of the riversיְאֹרye'ôr · streamH2975
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• and for the beeדְּבוֹרָהdebôrâh debôrâh · beeH1682
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804

Cross-references for Isaiah 7:18

• Isaiah 5:26He will send a signal to distant nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth. They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 30:1“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.
• Isaiah 31:1What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
• Exodus 8:21If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them.
• Deuteronomy 1:44But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah.
• Deuteronomy 7:20And then the Lord your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you!
• Joshua 24:12And I sent terror ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory.
• Psalms 118:12They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
• Isaiah 7:17“Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”
• 2 Kings 23:33Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him from ruling in Jerusalem. He also demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold as tribute.

Commentaries on Isaiah 7:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Hiss for the fly "Hist the fly" - See note on Isaiah 5:26. Egypt, and - Assyria - Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Pharaoh-necho, and Nebuchadnezzar, who one after another desolated Judea.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18In that day the Lord shall hiss - see the note at Isaiah 5:26. For the fly - That is, for the army, or the multitude of people. The comparison of a numerous army with “flies” is not uncommon; see Homer‘s “Iliad,” B. ii. 469, etc. - Thick as insects play, The wandering nation of a summer‘s day. That, drawn by milky streams at evening hours In gathered swarms surround the rural bowers; From pail to pail with busy murmur run The gilded legions, glittering in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 Let those who will not believe the promises of God, expect to hear the alarms of his threatenings; for who can resist or escape his judgments? The Lord shall sweep all away; and whomsoever he employs in any service for him, he will pay. All speaks a sad change of the face of that pleasant land. But what melancholy change is there, which sin will not make with a people? Agriculture would cease. Sorrows of every kind will come upon all who…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-25The phrase on that day refers to the future Day of the LORD, when God acts to judge and to save. Judah would first experience the judgment Isaiah had announced. This would be a warning of a greater judgment still to come. That greater judgment was the exile in Babylon from 586 to 538 BC.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. hiss--whistle, to bring bees to settle (see on Is 5:26). fly--found in numbers about the arms of the Nile and the canals from it (Is 19:5-7; 23:3), here called "rivers." Hence arose the plague of flies (Ex 8:21). Figurative, for numerous and troublesome foes from the remotest parts of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh-nechoh. bee--(De 1:44; Psa 118:12). As numerous in Assyria as the fly in marshy Egypt. Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, and Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 7:18

• Ahaz
• Assyria
• Bee
• Flies
• Hypocrisy
• Isaiah
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Egypt
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Day, That (the)
• That Day
• Ahaz
• Bee
• Confederate
• Fainthearted

Commentaries on Isaiah 7

• 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