Isaiah 33:4
in Isaiah 33Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathereth: as locusts leap shall men leap upon it.
KJV
And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And your spoil - The booty that the Assyrian army bad gathered in their march toward Jerusalem, and which would now be left by them to be collected by the Jews. Shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar - The grammatical construction here is such that this may admit of two interpretations. It may either mean, as the caterpillar or the locust is gathered; or it may mean, as the caterpillar gathers its spoil.
This site's exposition
O Lord, be gracious unto us
on Isaiah 33:2-4
Against the spoiler's coming judgment the prophet sets a prayer, O Lord, be gracious unto us, we have waited for thee, asking that the arm now raised in threat become Judah's own salvation in the day of trouble. The prayer is answered in the next two verses with a rout: at the noise of the tumult peoples flee, and when the Lord lifts himself up the nations are scattered like a locust swarm gathering and stripping a field bare. Barnes reads the abrupt shift from woe to prayer to victory as the chapter's pattern throughout, threat and deliverance following one another because both come from the same hand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 2 and following) Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for you: be our strength in the morning, and our salvation in time of trouble. At the voice of the Angel, the people fled; at your exaltation the nations were scattered. And your spoil will be gathered, as the locust is gathered, as when the ditches are full of it. The Lord is magnified, for he dwells on high: he has filled Zion with judgment and justice.
The Medieval Church1 voice
As to the plundering of their spoils: and, you, O Assyrians, your spoils shall be gathered together, by the Jews, above: they shall rejoice before you, as they that rejoice in taking a prey, when they divide the spoils (Isa 9:3).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thus the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just and Israel is enriched with the spoil of the Egyptians. Some make the Assyrians to be the caterpillars and locusts, which, when they are killed, are gathered together in heaps, as the frogs of Egypt, and are run upon, and trodden to dirt.
Gathered - By the Jews at Jerusalem, when you flee away. Like the caterpillar - As caterpillars gather and devour the fruits of the earth. As locusts - As locusts, especially when they are armed by commission from God, come with great force, and run hither and thither.
And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The invaders' "spoil" shall be left behind by them in their flight, and the Jews shall gather it. caterpillar--rather, "the wingless locust"; as it gathers; the Hebrew word for "gathers" is properly used of the gathering of the fruits of harvest (Isa 32:10). running to and fro--namely, in gathering harvest fruits. he--rather, "they." them--rather, "it," that is, the prey.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֻסַּ֣ף | veusaf | and it will be gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| שְׁלַלְכֶ֔ם | shelalkhem | plunder your | H7998 → | 73 times |
| אֹ֖סֶף | ʾosef | <the> gathering of | H625 → | |
| הֶֽחָסִ֑יל | hechasil | <the> locust[s] | H2625 → | |
| כְּמַשַּׁ֥ק | kemashak | like [the] rushing of | H4944 → | |
| גֵּבִ֖ים | gevim | locusts | H1357 → | |
| שׁוֹקֵ֥ק | shokek | [someone will be] rushing | H8264 → | |
| בּֽוֹ׃ | bo | on it |
וְאֻסַּ֣ףand it will be gathered
veusafH622 →200 times
שְׁלַלְכֶ֔םplunder your
shelalkhemH7998 →73 times
אֹ֖סֶף<the> gathering of
ʾosefH625 →
הֶֽחָסִ֑יל<the> locust[s]
hechasilH2625 →
כְּמַשַּׁ֥קlike [the] rushing of
kemashakH4944 →
גֵּבִ֖יםlocusts
gevimH1357 →
שׁוֹקֵ֥ק[someone will be] rushing
shokekH8264 →
בּֽוֹ׃on it
bo
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
Joel 2:25I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:6
I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them.…
- Joel 1:4–7
What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
- Joel 2:2–11
a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be…
- Zechariah 10:6
Through
Joel 2:9They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:21
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
- John 10:1
“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
- Jeremiah 9:21
Through
2 Chronicles 20:25Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables—more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 30:19–20
Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.
- 1 Samuel 30:19–20
Through
2 Chronicles 14:13Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried…
it leads to
- Genesis 10:19
and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
- Genesis 10:19
Through
Isaiah 33:23Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 7:8
When the lepers reached the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they carried off the silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. On returning,…
- 2 Kings 7:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; 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.