Isaiah 14:27
in Isaiah 14The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
KJV
For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
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This verse in Isaiah 14
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 26, 27.) This is the plan that I have devised for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? Some interpret this passage as a general prophecy against the entire world, and that the desolation of the cities of Babylon and Assyria are a type of the end of the world.
This site's exposition
The LORD of Hosts has sworn
on Isaiah 14:24-27
The LORD of Hosts swears, "as I have purposed, so will it stand," over a second target, Assyria, the threat of Isaiah's own lifetime. The oracles against Babylon and Assyria sit side by side under one "plan devised for the whole earth," a hand stretched out over the nations.
This site's exposition
The LORD of Hosts has purposed
The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and Barnes notes that His plans are formed in full view of every circumstance. Chrysostom applied the verse to the fall of Jerusalem: what God had decreed, no human hand could turn back. The questions expect one answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
They did not realize that if human hands had put an end to those things, then human hands could get them back for them. But it was God who destroyed their city, and no human power could ever change what God had decreed. "For what God, the Holy One, has planned who shall dissipate? His hand is stretched out; who will turn it back?" What God has reared up and wishes to remain, no man can tear down. In the same way, what he has destroyed and wishes to stay destroyed, no man can rebuild.
They were ready to expose him [Joseph] to death, or to sorrow, or to slavery—to the uttermost ills. But the overruling God used the wickedness of the conspirators for the trial and approval of him who was sold and betrayed. In order that this result may not be thought to arise from any casual coincidence or accidental revolution of things, God, by means of the very men who opposed it, brought to pass the very result which they opposed, using His enemies for the approval of His servants, in order that you may learn, that what God has willed no one will hinder, and that none will turn aside His high hand; in order that whenever you are plotted against, you may not stumble or be downcast, but be enabled to know that the plot will result in good in the end, if only you bear your lot well.
(Verse 26, 27.) This is the plan that he has devised for the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? For the whole earth has been interpreted as the entire world in the Septuagint, in the end of the oracle or vision against Babylon.
The Medieval Church1 voice
For the Lord of hosts. Here he shows the support of the divine purpose, both as to the decree of wisdom: he has decreed, and as to the fulfillment of power: and his hand is stretched out: and who shall turn it away? He is …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
His hand is stretched out to execute this purpose; and who has power enough to turn it back or to stay the course of his judgments?" II. Assurance is likewise given of the destruction of the Philistines and their power. This burden, this prophecy, that lay as a load upon them, to sink their state, came in the year that king Ahaz died, which was the first year of Hezekiah's reign,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For the Lord of hosts hath purposed,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the Lord of hosts - (see the note at Isa 1:9). Who shall disannul it? - Who has power to defeat his purposes? Difficult as they may be in appearance, and incredible as their fulfillment may seem, yet his purposes are formed in full view of all the circumstances; and there is no power to resist his arm, or to turn him aside from the execution of his designs. By this assurance God designed to comfort his people when they should be in Babylon in a long and dreary captivity (compare Psa 137:1-9.)
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֛וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| יָעָ֖ץ | yaatz | he has planned | H3289 → | 79 times |
| וּמִ֣י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יָפֵ֑ר | yafer | will he frustrate [it] | H6565 → | 50 times |
| וְיָד֥וֹ | veyado | and [is] hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַנְּטוּיָ֖ה | hanetuyah | the [one] stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| וּֽמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יְשִׁיבֶֽנָּה׃ פ | yeshivenah | will he turn back it | H7725 → | 1056 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֛וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
יָעָ֖ץhe has planned
yaatzH3289 →79 times
וּמִ֣יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
יָפֵ֑רwill he frustrate [it]
yaferH6565 →50 times
וְיָד֥וֹand [is] hand his
veyadoH3027 →1618 times
הַנְּטוּיָ֖הthe [one] stretched out
hanetuyahH5186 →214 times
וּֽמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
יְשִׁיבֶֽנָּה׃ פwill he turn back it
yeshivenahH7725 →1056 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
Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 5:39
But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
- Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- 1 Corinthians 3:19–20
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Proverbs 19:21
Through
Job 23:13But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him? He does what He desires.
it leads to
- Daniel 4:35
All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 115:3
Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
- Daniel 4:35
Through
Isaiah 43:13Even from eternity I am He, and none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
it leads to
- Psalms 90:2
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
- Psalms 90:2
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); George Adam Smith, The Book of Isaiah, Expositor's Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Chrysostom, Homily 5 Against the Jews; John Chrysostom, Discourse 4 on Lazarus and the Rich Man; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.