Isaiah 29:7
in Isaiah 29All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night.
KJV
And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 29
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the multitude of all the nations - The Assyrians, and their allied hosts. And her munition - Her fortresses, castles, places of strength 2Sa 5:7; Ecc 9:14; Eze 19:9. Shall be as a dream of a night vision - In a dream we seem to see the objects of which we think as really as when awake, and hence, they are called visions, and visions of the night Gen 46:2; Job 4:13; Job 7:14; Dan 2:28; Dan 4:5; Dan 7:1, Dan 7:7, Dan 7:13, Dan 7:
This site's exposition
as a dream of a night vision
on Isaiah 29:7-8
The nations warring against Ariel and mount Zion are likened to a dream, the whole host vanishing at waking the way a night vision does. A hungry man dreams he eats and wakes still empty, a thirsty man dreams he drinks and wakes still faint, and Henry reads the double picture as the appetite of conquest promising a satisfaction it can never deliver against the city the Lord defends. The multitude's hunger for Zion ends the same way, all their strength proving to be nothing more than a dream.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 19, verse 1, and following) Woe to Ariel, Ariel the city that David besieged. Year after year is added, the appointed feasts have come to an end. I will besiege Ariel, and she will be sad and mournful; she will be like an Ariel to me. I will encircle you like a sphere, and I will throw up a mound against you, and I will set up siege works against you.
The Medieval Church2 voices
657. Note on the words, it shall be as the dream (Isa 29:7), that something is called a dream: first, because of vanity: the vision of dreams is the resemblance of one thing to another (Sir 34:3); second, because of brevity: as a dream that …
656. And the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel, shall be as the dream. Here he adds some consolation from the punishment of the enemy, for like a vain thing, they will go into nothing, not carrying back anything advantageous from the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
As a dream - This is the beginning of the comparison, which is pursued and applied in the next verse. Sennacherib and his mighty army are not compared to a dream because of their sudden disappearance; but the disappointment of their eager hopes is compared to what happens to a hungry and thirsty man, when he awakes from a dream in which fancy had presented to him meat and drink in abundance, and finds it nothing but a vain illusion. The comparison is elegant and beautiful in the highest degree, well wrought up, and perfectly suited to the end proposed. The image is extremely natural, but not obvious: it appeals to our inward feelings, not to our outward senses; and is applied to an event in its concomitant circumstances exactly similar, but in its nature totally different. See De S. Poes. Hebr. Praelect. 12. […]
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּֽחֲלוֹם֙ | kachalom | like a dream | H2472 → | |
| חֲז֣וֹן | chazon | a vision of | H2377 → | |
| לַ֔יְלָה | laylah | [the] night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| הֲמוֹן֙ | hamon | [the] multitude of | H1995 → | 83 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֔ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| הַצֹּבְאִ֖ים | hatzoeim | which wage war | H6633 → | 14 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲרִיאֵ֑ל | ʾariel | Ariel | H740 → | 6 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צֹבֶ֙יהָ֙ | tzoveiha | [those who] wage war against it | H6633 → | 14 times |
| וּמְצֹ֣דָתָ֔הּ | umetzodatah | and stronghold its | H4685 → | |
| וְהַמְּצִיקִ֖ים | vehametzikim | and those [who] bring distress | H6693 → | 11 times |
| לָֽהּ׃ | lah | to it |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כַּֽחֲלוֹם֙like a dream
kachalomH2472 →
חֲז֣וֹןa vision of
chazonH2377 →
לַ֔יְלָה[the] night
laylahH3915 →233 times
הֲמוֹן֙[the] multitude of
hamonH1995 →83 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַגּוֹיִ֔םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
הַצֹּבְאִ֖יםwhich wage war
hatzoeimH6633 →14 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אֲרִיאֵ֑לAriel
ʾarielH740 →6 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
צֹבֶ֙יהָ֙[those who] wage war against it
tzoveihaH6633 →14 times
וּמְצֹ֣דָתָ֔הּand stronghold its
umetzodatahH4685 →
וְהַמְּצִיקִ֖יםand those [who] bring distress
vehametzikimH6693 →11 times
לָֽהּ׃to it
lah
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 20:8He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
it leads to
- Psalms 90:5
You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 29:7–8
All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 73:20
Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
- Job 18:18
He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
- Psalms 90:5
Through
Psalms 73:20Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
it leads to
- Job 20:8
He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
- Psalms 78:65
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
- Job 20:8
Through
Zechariah 12:9So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…
- Zechariah 14:2–3
For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the…
- Isaiah 54:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.