Isaiah 21:17
in Isaiah 21The remaining archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be few; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.
KJV
And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.
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This verse in Isaiah 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSecond, by the Chaldeans: the residue, left behind by the Assyrians, shall be diminished, by the Chaldeans; Cedar, the son of Ishmael; archers, following the art of their father, where it is said of Ishmael that he became an archer (Gen 21:20).
This site's exposition
Within a year, according to the years of an hireling
on Isaiah 21:16-17
The Lord sets a fixed and short term on the last burden: within a year, according to the years of an hireling, a hired man's single contracted term rather than a round or symbolic number, all the glory of Kedar shall fail. Verse 17 specifies the loss in military terms, the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, diminished, Kedar being an Arab tribe descended from Ishmael and known in the ancient world specifically for its archers. Barnes and Delitzsch both note the closing formula, for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it, seals the oracle the same way the book seals several of its precisely timed predictions, naming the years exactly so the fulfillment could be checked.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 16, 17.) For thus saith the Lord to me: Within one year, as the years of a hireling, all the glory of Cedar shall be taken away, and the residue of the number of archers of the mighty men of the children of Cedar shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. Therefore I said to you: Run ye to meet with water, and with bread, them that flee from the face of the battle.
(Verse 13 onwards) Burden in Arabia. In the evening you will sleep in the thicket, in the paths of Dodanim. Bring water to the thirsty ones you encounter: you who live in the land of the South, offer bread to the ones fleeing. Because they have fled from the swords, from the menacing sword, from the drawn bow, from the severity of battle.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
He repeats the question, as one in care, as one in earnest, and desirous to have an answer. Note, (1.) God's prophets and ministers are appointed to be watchmen, and we are to look upon them as such. They are as watchmen in the city in a time of peace, to see that all be safe, to knock at every door by personal enquiries ("Is it locked?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And the residue of the number of archers,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, Neither the skill of archers (though they be ever so good marksmen) nor the courage of mighty men can protect a people from the judgments of God, when they come with commission; they rather expose the undertakers. That is poor glory which will thus quickly come to nothing.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the residue of the number - That is, those who shall be left in the invasion. Or perhaps it may be read, ‘There shall be a renmant of the number of bowmen; the mighty people of Kedar shall be diminished.’ Of archers - Hebrew, ‘Of the bow;’ that is, of those who use bows in war. The bow was the common instrument in hunting and in war among the ancients. Shall be diminished - Hebrew, ‘Shall be made small;’ they shall be reduced to a very small number.
The archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar “The mighty bowmen of the sons of Kedar” - Sagittariorum fortium, Vulg.; transposing the two words, and reading גבורי קשה gibborey kesheth; which seems to be right. The strong men of the bow, the most excellent archers. For the Lord - hath spoken it “For Jehovah hath spoken it” - The prophetic Carmina of Marcius, foretelling the battle of Cannae, lib. 25:12, conclude with the same kind of solemn form: Nam mihi ita Jupiter fatus est; “Thus hath Jupiter spoken to me.” Observe that the word נאם naam, to pronounce, to declare, is the solemn word appropriated to the delivering of prophecies: “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith (נאם naam, pronounceth) Jehovah, who use their tongues, וינאמו נאם vaiyinamu neum, and solemnly pronounce, He hath pronounced it;” Jer 23:31. What God says shall most assuredly come to pass; he cannot be deceived.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּשְׁאָ֧ר | ushear | and [the] remnant of | H7605 → | 26 times |
| מִסְפַּר־ | mispar- | a number of | H4557 → | 134 times |
| קֶ֛שֶׁת | keshet | bowmen | H7198 → | 76 times |
| גִּבּוֹרֵ֥י | giborei | [the] warriors of | H1368 → | 158 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| קֵדָ֖ר | kedar | Kedar | H6938 → | 12 times |
| יִמְעָ֑טוּ | yimatu | they will be few | H4591 → | |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵֽי־ | ʾelohei- | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| דִּבֵּֽר׃ ס | diber | he has spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וּשְׁאָ֧רand [the] remnant of
ushearH7605 →26 times
מִסְפַּר־a number of
mispar-H4557 →134 times
קֶ֛שֶׁתbowmen
keshetH7198 →76 times
גִּבּוֹרֵ֥י[the] warriors of
giboreiH1368 →158 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
קֵדָ֖רKedar
kedarH6938 →12 times
יִמְעָ֑טוּthey will be few
yimatuH4591 →
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵֽי־[the] God of
ʾelohei-H430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
דִּבֵּֽר׃ סhe has spoken
diberH1696 →1141 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
Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- 1 Peter 1:25
but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Isaiah 55:11
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Matthew 5:18
For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
- Numbers 23:19
Through
Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.