Isaiah 10:14
in Isaiah 10My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.
KJV
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
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This verse in Isaiah 10
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
So when the Lord has completed
on Isaiah 10:12-14
He will punish Assyria "for the fruit of his arrogant heart" once He has finished His work against Mount Zion. The king credits nothing to heaven, claiming as skill a commission he never knew he carried. He gathered the earth's wealth "Like one gathering abandoned eggs," conquest as effortless plunder.
This site's exposition
Like one gathering abandoned eggs
The picture is of a man taking eggs from a nest the mother bird has left, with nothing to resist him. Matthew Henry read the silence as weakness in the nations and tyranny in the king. Verse 15 answers with the axe and its wielder.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Behold, then, how the Maker of the universe has always shown a loving care for humanity, not merely for the race of the descendants of Abraham but for all the descendants of Adam; through one tribe he has led all tribes to a knowledge of …
A commentator
Verecundus of JuncaCOMMENTARY ON THE CANTICLE OF EXODUS 1:10-11 · Written before 552.
proposed
"My hand found the strength of the people like a nest. And like abandoned eggs are collected, so I gathered all the earth. No one moved a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped." "You sent your Spirit and the sea covered them; they descended …
And so God, the Creator and Healer of all, knowing that pride is the cause and fountain head of evils, has been careful to heal opposites with opposites, that those things which were ruined by pride might be restored by humility. For the one says, "I will ascend into heaven," and the other, "My soul was brought low even to the ground." … The one says, "As eggs are gathered together which are left, so have I gathered all the earth"; the other says, "I am like a pelican of the wilderness … and am become as a sparrow dwelling alone on a roof." … If we look at the reason for our original fall and the foundations of our salvation, and [if we] consider by whom and in what way the latter were laid and the former originated, we may learn, either through the fall of the devil, or through the example of Christ, how to avoid so terrible a death from pride.
"My hand has found the wealth of the peoples, as one gathers eggs that are abandoned. I have gathered the whole earth, and there was no one who moved a wing or opened his mouth to chirp." And according to the LXX, he was of such great power, that he completely destroyed cities of warlike men, and seized the entire world as if it were a nest, and he turned the abandoned eggs from their mothers into his prey.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The ease of doing is determined as to three things: as to absolute subjection: and my hand has found the strength of the people as a nest, which is in the power of the finder, below: and it shall come to pass, that as a …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people,....
A promise of grace to the people of God, to enable them to bear up under the affliction, and to get good by it,
They were so weak that they knew it was to no purpose to resist, and he was so arbitrary that they knew it was to no purpose to complain. Strange that ever men who were made to do good should take a pride and a pleasure in doing wrong, and doing mischief to all about them without control, and should reckon that their glory which is their shame!
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
nest--implying the ease with which he carried off all before him. left--by the parent bird. none . . . moved . . . wing--image from an angry bird resisting the robbery of its "nest." peeped--chirped even low (Isa 8:19). No resistance was offered me, of deed, or even word.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And my hand hath found, as a nest - By a beautiful and striking figure here, the Assyrian monarch is represented as describing the ease with which he had subdued kingdoms, and rifled them of their treasures. No resistance had been offered. He had taken them with as little opposition as a rustic takes possession of a nest, with its eggs or young, when the parent bird is away.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
For he said, With the strength of my hand I accomplished this None of my might is from the Holy One, blessed be He.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּמְצָ֨א | vatimtza' | and it has found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| כַקֵּ֤ן׀ | khaken | like <the> nest | H7064 → | |
| יָדִי֙ | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְחֵ֣יל | lecheil | <to> [the] wealth of | H2428 → | 246 times |
| הָֽעַמִּ֔ים | haamim | the peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְכֶאֱסֹף֙ | vekheesof | and as gathers | H622 → | 200 times |
| בֵּיצִ֣ים | beitzim | eggs | H1000 → | 6 times |
| עֲזֻב֔וֹת | azuvot | abandoned | H5800 → | 215 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אָסָ֑פְתִּי | ʾasafeti | I have gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיָה֙ | hayah | any was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נֹדֵ֣ד | noded | fluttering | H5074 → | 28 times |
| כָּנָ֔ף | kanaf | a wing | H3671 → | 109 times |
| וּפֹצֶ֥ה | ufotzeh | and opening | H6475 → | |
| פֶ֖ה | feh | a mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וּמְצַפְצֵֽף׃ | umetzaftzef | and chirping | H6850 → | 4 times |
וַתִּמְצָ֨אand it has found
vatimtza'H4672 →455 times
כַקֵּ֤ן׀like <the> nest
khakenH7064 →
יָדִי֙hand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
לְחֵ֣יל<to> [the] wealth of
lecheilH2428 →246 times
הָֽעַמִּ֔יםthe peoples
haamimH5971 →1873 times
וְכֶאֱסֹף֙and as gathers
vekheesofH622 →200 times
בֵּיצִ֣יםeggs
beitzimH1000 →6 times
עֲזֻב֔וֹתabandoned
azuvotH5800 →215 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אָסָ֑פְתִּיI have gathered
ʾasafetiH622 →200 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הָיָה֙any was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
נֹדֵ֣דfluttering
nodedH5074 →28 times
כָּנָ֔ףa wing
kanafH3671 →109 times
וּפֹצֶ֥הand opening
ufotzehH6475 →
פֶ֖הa mouth
fehH6310 →498 times
וּמְצַפְצֵֽף׃and chirping
umetzaftzefH6850 →4 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 31:25if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,
it leads to
- Psalms 62:10
Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
- Daniel 4:30
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
- Proverbs 23:5
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
- Deuteronomy 8:17–18
You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- Hosea 12:8
And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”
- Psalms 62:10
Through
Nahum 2:9“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:34
Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
- Nahum 2:12–13
The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.
- Jeremiah 51:56
For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.
- Jeremiah 25:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Cassian, INSTITUTES 12:8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE 10:54; Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah and Verecundus of Junca, COMMENTARY ON THE CANTICLE OF EXODUS 1:10-11.