Isaiah 30:32
in Isaiah 30And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And every stroke of the appointed staff, which Jehovah shall lay upon him, shall be with the sound of tabrets and harps; and in battles with the brandishing of his arm will he fight with them.
KJV
And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
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This verse in Isaiah 30
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe grounded staff “The rod of his correction” - For מוסדה musadah, the grounded staff, of which no one yet has been able to make any tolerable sense, Le Clerc conjectured מוסרה musarah, of correction; (see Pro 22:15); and so it is in two MSS., (one of them ancient), and seems to be so in the Bodleian MS.
This site's exposition
Assyria will be shattered
on Isaiah 30:31-33
Assyria falls "at the voice of the LORD". For the king, "Topheth has long been prepared", its pyre "deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood". Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes noted that the power Judah fled to Egypt to escape stood under a judgment prepared long ago.
This site's exposition
the tambourines and lyres will sound
Each blow on Assyria is matched by music among the rescued, picking up the festival song of verse 29. Wesley read the rod as one fixed by God's settled purpose. Battle and celebration run side by side.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 30 and following) And the Lord will cause the glory of His voice to be heard, and He will show the terror of His arm in the threat of His fury and the devouring flame of fire. He will strike with whirlwind and hailstones. At the voice of the Lord, Assyria will tremble, struck down like a virgin, and there will be a passage firmly established by the rod: which the Lord will cause to rest upon him with timbrels and harps, and in battles He will conquer them in principal places.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the duration of the punishment: and the passage of the rod shall be strongly grounded, that is, strengthened. Third, the exultation of the saints: with harps, and in great battles, which are waged by divine power alone: the just shall rejoice when he shall …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The rod - Hebrew. the founded rod, the judgment of God, called a founded rod, because it was firmly established, by God's immutable purpose. With harps - Their destruction shall be celebrated by God's people, with joy and musick, and songs of praise. Of shaking - Or, shaking of the hand, of which kind of shaking this Hebrew word is constantly used.
); for when the wicked perish there is shouting; and it is with a particular satisfaction that wise and good men see the ruin of those who, like the Assyrians, have insolently bidden defiance to God and trampled upon all mankind.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Against the Syrians they sought to the Assyrians, 2 Kings xvi. Against the Assyrians they here sought to the Egyptians, and Rabshakeh upbraided them with so doing, 2 Kings xviii. How this sin of theirs is described, and what there was in it that was provoking to God.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Margin and MAURER construe, "Every passing through (infliction, Isa 28:15) of the appointed rod, which, &c., shall be with tabrets," that is, accompanied with joy on the part of the rescued peoples. battles of shaking--that is, shock of battles (Isa 19:16; compare "sift . . . sieve," Isa 30:28). with it--namely, Assyria.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And in every place - Margin, ‘Every passing of the rod founded.’ Lowth renders it, ‘Whenever shall pass the rod of correction.’ The whole design of the passage is evidently to foretell the sudden destruction of the army of the Assyrians, and to show that this would be accomplished by the agency of God. The idea seems to be, that in all those places where the rod of the Assyrian would pass, that is, where he would cause devastation and desolation, there would be the sound of rejoicing with instruments of music when he should be overthrown. The grounded staff - The word ‘staff’ here, or “rod,” seems to refer to that by which the Assyrian smote the nations Isa 30:31; or rather perhaps the Assyrian king himself as a rod of correction in the hand of Yahweh (see Isa 10:5). The word rendered ‘grounded’ (מוסדה mûsâdâh) has given great perplexity to commentators. Lowth supposes it should be מוסרח (“correction”), according to a conjecture of Le Clerc. Two manuscripts also read it in the same way. But the authority from the MSS. is not sufficient to justify a change in the present Hebrew text. This word, which is not very intelligibly rendered ‘grounded,’ is derived from יסד yâsad, to “found, to lay the foundation of a building” Ezr 3:12; Isa 54:11; then to establish, to appoint, to ordain Psa 104:8; Hab 1:12. […]
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 |
| כֹּ֤ל | kol | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַֽעֲבַר֙ | maavar | blow of | H4569 → | 11 times |
| מַטֵּ֣ה | mateh | [the] staff of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| מֽוּסָדָ֔ה | musadah | appointment | H4145 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָנִ֤יחַ | yaniach | he will place | H5117 → | 142 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עָלָ֔יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּתֻפִּ֖ים | betupim | [will be] with tambourines | H8596 → | 17 times |
| וּבְכִנֹּר֑וֹת | uvekhinorot | and with harps | H3658 → | 42 times |
| וּבְמִלְחֲמ֥וֹת | uvemilchamot | and with battles of | H4421 → | 320 times |
| תְּנוּפָ֖ה | tenufah | brandishing | H8573 → | |
| נִלְחַם־ | nilcham- | he will fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בָּֽם׃ | bam | against them |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כֹּ֤לevery
kolH3605 →5413 times
מַֽעֲבַר֙blow of
maavarH4569 →11 times
מַטֵּ֣ה[the] staff of
matehH4294 →252 times
מֽוּסָדָ֔הappointment
musadahH4145 →
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָנִ֤יחַhe will place
yaniachH5117 →142 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עָלָ֔יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
בְּתֻפִּ֖ים[will be] with tambourines
betupimH8596 →17 times
וּבְכִנֹּר֑וֹתand with harps
uvekhinorotH3658 →42 times
וּבְמִלְחֲמ֥וֹתand with battles of
uvemilchamotH4421 →320 times
תְּנוּפָ֖הbrandishing
tenufahH8573 →
נִלְחַם־he will fight
nilcham-H3898 →177 times
בָּֽם׃against them
bam
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
Isaiah 2:19Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:10
Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
- Luke 23:30
At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
- Hosea 10:8
The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
- Isaiah 2:10
Through
Isaiah 11:15The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men…
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:11
They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the…
- Revelation 16:12
And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.
- Isaiah 50:2
Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold,…
- Zechariah 10:11
Through
Ezekiel 32:10I will cause many peoples to be appalled over you, and their kings will shudder in horror because of you when I brandish My sword before them. On the day of your downfall each…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:16
All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over…
- Ezekiel 26:16
Through
Isaiah 19:16In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them.
it leads to
- Nahum 3:13
Look at your troops—they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.
- Nahum 3:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.