Isaiah 5:27
in Isaiah 5None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
KJV
None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
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This verse in Isaiah 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd he will not be weary or faint. He will not slumber or sleep, nor will his waist belt be loosened or his sandal strap be broken. The divine word describes the speed of the approaching army, which came not by its own will, but by the will of the Lord; indeed, it was drawn in and provoked by its hiss, which did not fail or tire from such a journey, and did not allow sleep to its eyes, and whose sandals were not worn out.
This site's exposition
He lifts a banner for
on Isaiah 5:26-30
The chapter names the instrument of judgment without naming a nation, a banner lifted for "the distant nations." The older commentators read the sharpened arrows as the Assyrian army, named only in later chapters. The chapter that opened with a love song for a vineyard ends in "darkness and distress."
This site's exposition
No belt is loose
The nations the LORD whistles for in 5:26 come with no man weary. Clarke takes the lines as a picture of courage in the march. Jerome says the army comes at the will of the LORD.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
198. Behold they shall come with speed swiftly. Here the disposition of the army is set out. And first, he shows that they are unencumbered for coming; second, that they are armed for fighting: their arrows (Isa 5:28); third, that they are cruel for punishing: …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Nor sleep - They shall all be watchful and diligent to take all opportunities of executing my judgments. Nor latchet - I will take all impediments out of their way.
7 For the vineyard of the L ORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. See what variety of methods the great God takes to awaken sinners to repentance by convincing them of sin, and showing them their misery and danger by reason of it.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:29w-of-66
None shall be weary nor stumble among them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
None - among them - Kimchi has well illustrated this continued exaggeration or hyperbole, as he rightly calls it, to the following effect: “Through the greatness of their courage they shall not be fatigued with their march, nor shall they stumble though they march with the utmost speed: they shall not slumber by day, nor sleep by night; neither shall they ungird their armor, or put off their sandals to take their rest. Their arms shall be always in readiness, their arrows sharpened, and their bows bent. The hoofs of their horses are hard as a rock. They shall not fail, or need to be shod with iron: the wheels of their carriages shall move as rapidly as a whirlwind.” Neither shall the girdle - The Eastern people, wearing long and loose garments, were unfit for action or business of any kind, without girding their clothes about them. When their business was finished they took off their girdles. A girdle therefore denotes strength and activity; and to unloose the girdle is to deprive of strength, to render unfit for action. God promises to unloose the loins of kings before Cyrus, Isa 45:1. The girdle is so essential a part of a soldier’s accoutrements, being the last that he puts on to make himself ready for action, that to be girded, ζωννυσθαι, with the Greeks means to be completely armed and ready for battle: - Ατρειδης δ εβοησεν, ιδε ζωννυσθαι ανωγεν Αργειους. Iliad, 11:15. Το δε ενδυναι τα ὁπλα εκαλουν οἱ παλαιοι ζωννυσθαι. Pausan. Boeot. It is used in the same manner by the Hebrews: “Let not him that girdeth himself boast as he that unlooseth his girdle,” 1Ki 20:11; that is, triumph not before the war is finished.
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
None shall be weary - In this verse and the following, the prophet describes the condition of the army that would be summoned to the destruction of Judea. It would be composed of bold, vigorous, courageous men; they would be unwearied by long and painful journies; they would be fierce and violent; they would come fully prepared for conquest. None would be “weary,” that is, fatigued with long marches, or with hard service; Deu 25:18; 2Sa 16:
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| עָיֵ֤ף | ʾayef | [is] a weary [one] | H5889 → | 17 times |
| וְאֵין־ | veein- | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| כּוֹשֵׁל֙ | koshel | [is one who] stumbles | H3782 → | 62 times |
| בּ֔וֹ | bo | among it | ||
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָנ֖וּם | yanum | anyone will slumber | H5123 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִישָׁ֑ן | yishan | anyone will sleep | H3462 → | |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִפְתַּח֙ | niftach | it has been opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| אֵז֣וֹר | ʾezor | [the] waistband of | H232 → | 14 times |
| חֲלָצָ֔יו | chalatzav | loins its | H2504 → | 10 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִתַּ֖ק | nitak | it has been torn apart | H5423 → | 27 times |
| שְׂר֥וֹךְ | serokh | a thong of | H8288 → | |
| נְעָלָֽיו׃ | nealav | sandals its | H5275 → | 22 times |
אֵין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
עָיֵ֤ף[is] a weary [one]
ʾayefH5889 →17 times
וְאֵין־and there not
veein-H369 →789 times
כּוֹשֵׁל֙[is one who] stumbles
koshelH3782 →62 times
בּ֔וֹamong it
bo
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָנ֖וּםanyone will slumber
yanumH5123 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִישָׁ֑ןanyone will sleep
yishanH3462 →
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נִפְתַּח֙it has been opened
niftachH6605 →144 times
אֵז֣וֹר[the] waistband of
ʾezorH232 →14 times
חֲלָצָ֔יוloins its
chalatzavH2504 →10 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נִתַּ֖קit has been torn apart
nitakH5423 →27 times
שְׂר֥וֹךְa thong of
serokhH8288 →
נְעָלָֽיו׃sandals its
nealavH5275 →22 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
Job 12:21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
it leads to
- Psalms 107:40
He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- Psalms 107:40
Through
Job 12:18He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.
it leads to
- Daniel 2:21
He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Psalms 116:16
Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.
- Jeremiah 52:31–34
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned…
- 2 Chronicles 33:11–14
So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
- Revelation 19:16
And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
- Daniel 2:21
Through
Deuteronomy 32:25Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 7:15
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
- Lamentations 1:20
See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am churning within; my heart is pounding within me, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is death.
- Ezekiel 7:15
Where this verse is studied
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, 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 Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet 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.