Isaiah 31:8

Verse

“Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to taskwork.

Bible in Basic English

Then the Assyrian will come down by the sword, but not of man; the sword, not of men, will be the cause of his destruction: and he will go in flight from the sword, and his young men will be put to forced work.

Free Bible Version

The Assyrians will be killed by the sword of one who is not a man. They will destroyed by the sword of one who is not mortal. They will run away at the sight of the sword, and the young Assyrian men will be taken away as slave laborers.

Geneva Bible 1599

Then shall Asshur fall by the sworde, not of man, neither shall the sworde of man deuoure him, and hee shall flee from the sworde, and his yong men shall faint.

King James (Authorized) Version

¶ Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

One Unity Resource Bible

“The Assyrian will fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of mankind, shall devour him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will become subject to forced labor.

Translation for Translators

Many of the Assyrian soldiers will be killed, but not by swords that men use. They will be destroyed by the sword of God; and those who are not killed will ◄panic/be very afraid► and flee. And some of them will be captured and forced to become slaves.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Assyria will fall by the sword; a sword not wielded by man will consume him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will be forced to do hard labor.

Noah Webster Bible

Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

World English Bible

“The Assyrian will fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of mankind, shall devour him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will become subject to forced labor.

Young's Literal Translation

And fallen hath Asshur by sword, not of the high, Yea, a sword — not of the low, doth consume him, And he hath fled for himself from the face of a sword, And his young men become tributary.

Context

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

⁷For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made. ⁸“Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. ⁹Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Summary

In Isaiah 31:8, the prophet Isaiah warns the people of Judah against relying on Egypt for help in times of trouble, instead of turning to God. He emphasizes that Egypt's military might and horses are mere mortal resources that cannot provide true deliverance or protection. The verse underscores the importance of trusting in the Lord alone for strength and salvation, rather than seeking security in worldly alliances. Ultimately, Isaiah calls the people to repentance and faith in God as their ultimate source of hope and deliverance.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Then shall the Assyrian fall, etc. - Because he was to be discomfited by the angel of the Lord, destroying in his camp, in one night, upwards of one hundred and eighty thousand men; and Sennacherib himself fell by the hands of the princes, his own sons. Not mighty men, for they were not soldiers; not mean men, for they were princes.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

The second motive is, that Israel will not be rescued by men, but by Jehovah alone; so that even He from whom they have now so deeply fallen will prove Himself the only true ground of confidence. "And Asshur falls by a sword not of a man, and a sword not of a man will devour him; and he flees before a sword, and his young men become tributary. And his rock, for fear will it pass away, and his princes be frightened away by the flags: the saying of Jehovah, who has His fire in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem." The lxx and Jerome render this falsely φεύξεται οὐκ (לא) ἀπὸ προσώπου μαχαίρας. לו is an ethical dative, and the prophet intentionally writes "before a sword" without any article, to suggest the idea of the unbounded, infinite, awful (cf., Isa 28:2, beyâd; Psalter, vol. i. p. 15). A sword is drawn without any human intervention, and before this Asshur falls, or at least so many of the Assyrians as are unable to save themselves by flight. The power of Asshur is for ever broken; even its young men will henceforth become tributary, or perform feudal service. By "his rock" most commentators understand the rock upon which the fugitive would gladly have taken refuge, but did not dare (Rosenmller, Gesenius, Knobel, etc.); others, again, the military force of Asshur, as its supposed invincible refuge (Saad., etc.); others, the apparently indestructible might of Asshur generally (Vulgate, Rashi, Hitzig). But the presence of "his princes" in the parallel clause makes it most natural to refer "his rock" to the king; and this reference is established with certainty by what Isa 32:2 affirms of the king and princes of Judah. Luther also renders it thus: und jr Fels wird fur furcht wegzihen (and their rock will withdraw for fear). Sennacherib really did hurry back to Assyria after the catastrophe in a most rapid flight. Minnēs are the standards of Asshur, which the commanders of the army fly away from in terror, without attempting to rally those that were scattered. Thus speaks Jehovah, and this is what He decrees who has His 'ūr and tannūr in Jerusalem. We cannot suppose that the allusion here is to the fire and hearth of the sacrifices; for tannūr does not mean a hearth, but a furnace (from nūr, to burn). The reference is to the light of the divine presence, which was outwardly a devouring fire for the enemies of Jerusalem, an unapproachable red-hot furnace (ignis et caminus qui devorat peccatores et ligna, faenum stipulamque consumit: Jerome).

Isaiah 31:8

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

“Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to taskwork.

Bible in Basic English

Free Bible Version

Geneva Bible 1599

Then shall Asshur fall by the sworde, not of man, neither shall the sworde of man deuoure him, and hee shall flee from the sworde, and his yong men shall faint.

King James (Authorized) Version

¶ Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

One Unity Resource Bible

“The Assyrian will fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of mankind, shall devour him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will become subject to forced labor.

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

Assyria will fall by the sword; a sword not wielded by man will consume him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will be forced to do hard labor.

Noah Webster Bible

Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

World English Bible

“The Assyrian will fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of mankind, shall devour him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will become subject to forced labor.

Young's Literal Translation

And fallen hath Asshur by sword, not of the high, Yea, a sword — not of the low, doth consume him, And he hath fled for himself from the face of a sword, And his young men become tributary.

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Isaiah 31:8

Verse

Context

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Isaiah 31:8

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary