New Living Translation
Isaiah 7:20
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 7:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
- New International Version (NIV)In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard.
Context of Isaiah 7:20
18In 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. In 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. 21In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. 22Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey.
Read all of Isaiah 7Isaiah 7:20 word by word
בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יְגַלַּ֣ח אֲדֹנָי֩ בְּתַ֨עַר הַשְּׂכִירָ֜ה בְּעֶבְרֵ֤י נָהָר֙ בְּמֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר אֶת־הָרֹ֖אשׁ וְשַׂ֣עַר הָרַגְלָ֑יִם וְגַ֥ם אֶת־הַזָּקָ֖ן תִּסְפֶּֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- In the same dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- shall the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- shaveגָּלַחgâlach · to shaveH1548
- with a razorתַּ֫עַרta‛ar · razorH8593
- that is hiredשְׂכִירָהώekîyrâh · hiredH7917
- by them beyondעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
- the riverנָהָרnâhâr · RiverH5104
- by the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- and the hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
- of the feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- and it shall also consumeסָפָהsâphâh · to snatchH5595
- the beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
Cross-references for Isaiah 7:20
- Isaiah 10:6I am sending Assyria against a godless nation, against a people with whom I am angry. Assyria will plunder them, trampling them like dirt beneath its feet.
- 2 Kings 16:7King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 28:20So when King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him.
- Jeremiah 27:6Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.
- Ezekiel 5:1“Son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a razor to shave your head and beard. Use a scale to weigh the hair into three equal parts.
- Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work.
- Isaiah 1:5Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.
- Isaiah 9:14Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.
- Isaiah 24:2Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared.
Commentaries on Isaiah 7:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The river - That is, the Euphrates: הנהר hanahar . So read the Septuagint and two MSS. Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired "Jehovah shall shave by the hired razor" - To shave with the hired razor the head, the feet, and the beard, is an expression highly parabolical, to denote the utter devastation of the country from one end to the other; and the plundering of the people, from the highest to the lowest, by the Assyrians, whom God employed as…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20In the same day - The idea in this verse is the same as in the preceding, though presented in a different form. The meaning is, that “God” would bring upon them this punishment, but that he would make use of the Assyrian as an “instrument” by which to do it. Shave - The act of shaving off the hair denotes punishment or disgrace; compare 2 Samuel 10:4: Hanun took David‘s servants, and shaved off one half of their beards;‘ 1 Chronicles 19:4. With a razor…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. 20shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well: In the ancient Near East, forced shaving was a disgraceful act (see 2 Samuel 10:4–5). Here, it served as a metaphor for the destruction of the country.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. razor--The Assyrians are to be God's instrument of devastating Judea, just as a razor sweeps away all hair before it (Is 10:5; Eze 29:19, 20). hired--alluding to Ahaz' hiring (2Ki 16:7, 8) Tiglath-pileser against Syria and Israel; namely, by them beyond the river--namely, the Euphrates; the eastern boundary of Jewish geographical knowledge (Psa 72:8); the river which Abram crossed; the Nile also may be included (Is 7:18) [G. V. Smith]. Gesenius…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 7:20
In the dictionaries
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
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