Isaiah 9:18

Isaiah 9:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
• New International Version (NIV)Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke.

Context of Isaiah 9:18

16For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 17Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 19Through the wrath of Yhwh of Armies is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. 20And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

Isaiah 9:18 word by word

כִּֽי־בָעֲרָ֤ה כָאֵשׁ֙ רִשְׁעָ֔ה שָׁמִ֥יר וָשַׁ֖יִת תֹּאכֵ֑ל וַתִּצַּת֙ בְּסִֽבְכֵ֣י הַיַּ֔עַר וַיִּֽתְאַבְּכ֖וּ גֵּא֥וּת עָשָֽׁן׃Read the interlinear

• For wickednessרִשְׁעָהrish‛âh · wickednessH7564
• burnethבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: burnH1197
• as the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• it shall devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the briersשָׁמִירshâmîyr · thornH8068
• and thornsשַׁ֫יִתshayith · thornbushH7898
• and shall kindleיָצַתyâtsath · to kindleH3341
• in the thicketsסְבַךְsebâk · thicketH5442
• of the forestיַ֫עַרya‛ar · woodH3293
• and they shall mount upאָבַךְ'âbak · to roll upH55
• the lifting upגֵּאוּתgê'ûth · majestyH1348
• of smokeעָשָׁן‛âshân · smokeH6227

Cross-references for Isaiah 9:18

• Isaiah 1:31And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
• Isaiah 30:30And Yhwh shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
• Isaiah 33:12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
• Isaiah 34:8For it is the day of Yhwh's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
• Isaiah 66:16For by fire and by his sword will Yhwh plead with all flesh: and the slain of Yhwh shall be many.
• Numbers 11:1And when the people complained, it displeased Yhwh: And Yhwh heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of Yhwh burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
• Deuteronomy 32:22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
• Job 31:11For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
• Amos 7:4Thus hath the Lord Yhwh shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord Yhwh called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
• Nahum 1:6Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
• Malachi 4:1For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Yhwh of Armies, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
• Matthew 13:49So shall it be at the end of the age: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
• Matthew 25:41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
• Mark 9:43And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
• Isaiah 10:16Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Armies, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
• Isaiah 27:4Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.

Commentaries on Isaiah 9:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18For wickedness - Wickedness rageth like a fire, destroying and laying waste the nation: but it shall be its own destruction, by bringing down the fire of God's wrath, which shall burn up the briers and the thorns; that is, the wicked themselves. Briers and thorns are an image frequently applied in Scripture, when set on fire, to the rage of the wicked; violent, yet impotent, and of no long continuance. "They are extinct as the fire of thorns," Psalm…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18For wickedness - This commences the third part of the prophecy, which continues to the end of the chapter. It is a description of prevailing impiety. The effects and prevalence of it are described by the image of a raging, burning flame, that spreads everywhere: first among the humble shrubbery - the briers and thorns, then in the vast forests, until it spreads over the land, and sends a mighty column of flame and smoke up to heaven. Burneth as the fire…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-21Verses 8-21 Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-21After the leaders were destroyed, the nation would fall into chaos. With no strong leadership, people would turn against one another. Civil war would then destroy the nation. It would spread quickly and cause great damage, like a brushfire that no one can control.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2118-21. Third strophe. burneth--maketh consumption, not only spreading rapidly, but also consuming like fire: sin is its own punishment. briers ... thorns--emblem of the wicked; especially those of low rank (Is 27:4; 2Sa 23:6). forest--from the humble shrubbery the flame spreads to the vast forest; it reaches the high, as well as the low. mount up like ... smoke--rather. "They (the thickets of the forest) shall lift themselves proudly aloft [the Hebrew is…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 9:18

• Backsliders
• Ephraim
• Famine
• Isaiah
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Ahaz
• Increase
• Kindle
• Poetry
• Prince
• Snatch
• Adamant
• Ezekiel
• Fire
• Forest

Commentaries on Isaiah 9

• 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