Isaiah 31:8
in Isaiah 31“Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to taskwork.
KJV
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
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This verse in Isaiah 31
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThen shall the Assyrian fall, etc. - Because he was to be discomfited by the angel of the Lord, destroying in his camp, in one night, upwards of one hundred and eighty thousand men; and Sennacherib himself fell by the hands of the princes, his own sons. Not mighty men, for they were not soldiers; not mean men, for they were princes.
This site's exposition
Then Assyria will fall
on Isaiah 31:8-9
Assyria will fall "not by the sword of man", the same deliverance the histories record when Sennacherib’s army was struck in one night. Their "princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard", says the LORD, "whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 6 onwards) Return, as you have deeply strayed, O children of Israel. For on that day a man will cast away the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made for yourselves to sin. And Assur will fall by the sword, not of a man; and a sword, not of a human, will devour him. He will flee not from the face of the sword, and his young men will become forced labor.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he sets out the fruit, namely, the destruction itself as to the death of the slain: by the sword: my sword shall devour flesh (Deut 32:42); and as to the removal of the survivors in flight, fear, and servitude, for his young men shall …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The sword - Not of any man, but of an angel. Discomfited - Hebrew. shall melt away, a great part of them being destroyed by the angel; and the hearts of the rest melting for fear.
5 As birds flying, so will the L ORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it. This is the last of four chapters together that begin with woe; and they are all woes to the sinners that were found among the professing people of God, to the drunkards of Ephraim ( ch. xxviii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword - The sword is often used as an instrument of punishment. It is not meant here literally that the sword would be used, but it is employed to denote that complete destruction would come upon them. Not of a mighty man - The idea here is, that the army should not fall by the valor of a distinguished warrior, but that it should be done by the direct interposition of God (see Isa 37:36). Of a mean man - Of a man of humble rank. His army shall not be slain by the hand of mortals. But he shall flee - The Assyrian monarch escaped when his army was destroyed, and fled toward his own land; Isa 37:37. From the sword - Margin, ‘For fear of.’ The Hebrew is ‘From the face of the sword;’ and the sense is, that he would flee in consequence of the destruction of his host, here represented as destroyed by the sword of Yahweh. And his young men - The flower and strength of his army. Shall be discomfited - Margin, ‘For melting;’ or ‘tribute,’ or ‘tributary.’ Septuagint, Εἰς ἥττημα Eis hēttēma - ‘For destruction.’ The Hebrew word (מס mas), derived probably from מסס mâsas, “to melt away, to dissolve”) is most usually employed to denote a levy, fine, or tax - so called, says Taylor, because it wastes or exhausts the substance and strength of a people. The word is often used to denote that people become tributary, or vassals, as in Gen 49:15; Deu 20:11; compare Jos 16:10; 2Sa 20:24; 1Ki 4:6; 1Ki 5:13; Est 10:1. Probably it does not here mean that the strength of the Assyrian army would become literally tributary to the Jews, but that they would be as if they had been placed under a levy to them; their vigor and strength would melt away; as property and numbers do under taxation and tribute.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָפַ֤ל | venafal | and it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| אַשּׁוּר֙ | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| בְּחֶ֣רֶב | becherev | by a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | a human | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְחֶ֥רֶב | vecherev | and a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָדָ֖ם | ʾadam | a human | H120 → | 551 times |
| תֹּֽאכֲלֶ֑נּוּ | tokhalenu | it will consume it | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְנָ֥ס | venas | and it will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | <for> itself | ||
| מִפְּנֵי־ | mipenei- | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֶ֔רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וּבַחוּרָ֖יו | uvachurav | and young men its | H970 → | 44 times |
| לָמַ֥ס | lamas | <into> forced labor | H4522 → | |
| יִהְיֽוּ׃ | yihyu | they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
וְנָפַ֤לand it will fall
venafalH5307 →435 times
אַשּׁוּר֙Assyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
בְּחֶ֣רֶבby a sword
becherevH2719 →413 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אִ֔ישׁa human
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְחֶ֥רֶבand a sword
vecherevH2719 →413 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָדָ֖םa human
ʾadamH120 →551 times
תֹּֽאכֲלֶ֑נּוּit will consume it
tokhalenuH398 →810 times
וְנָ֥סand it will flee
venasH5127 →159 times
לוֹ֙<for> itself
lo
מִפְּנֵי־from before
mipenei-H6440 →2123 times
חֶ֔רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
וּבַחוּרָ֖יוand young men its
uvachuravH970 →44 times
לָמַ֥ס<into> forced labor
lamasH4522 →
יִהְיֽוּ׃they will become
yihyuH1961 →3559 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
Hosea 1:7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
it leads to
- Zechariah 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Psalms 44:3–6
For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because…
- 2 Kings 19:35
And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the…
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Zechariah 4:6
Through
Isaiah 10:12So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud…
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:16–19
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 50:18
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.
- Isaiah 10:16–19
Through
Isaiah 14:25I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:4
For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
- Isaiah 9:4
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); 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.