Isaiah 54:15
in Isaiah 54If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me; whoever assails you will fall before you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, they may gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee.
KJV
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
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This verse in Isaiah 54
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 15.) Behold, a resident will come, who was not with me; your former stranger will be joined to you. LXX: Behold, proselytes will come to you through me, and they will be your settlers, and they will flee to you. And the Jews believe that this is said about Jerusalem, that many from the Gentiles will become proselytes and accept the law of Moses and its ceremonies.
This site's exposition
If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me
on Isaiah 54:15-17
Verse 15 says that an attack on Zion is not ordained by the LORD, and “whoever assails you will fall before you”. Verse 16 claims both the smith and the destroyer as His creatures. Verse 17 gives the chapter's best-known line, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the adherence of strangers: behold, an inhabitant shall come, for many from the gentiles adhered to them when they came out of captivity, below: let not the son of the stranger, that adheres to the Lord, speak, saying: the Lord will divide and separate …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Behold - It is true some will combine and make an attempt against thee. But - Without any such commission from me, as Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar had.
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me,....
As long as there is a devil in hell, and a persecutor out of it, God's people must expect frequent alarms; but, First, God will not own them, will not give them either commission or countenance; they gather together, hand joins in hand, but it is not by me.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the L ORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. If we apply this to the state of the Jews after their return out of captivity, it is a prophecy of the increase of their nation after they were settled in their own land.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold, they shall surely gather together - The idea in this verse is, that the enemies of the people of God would indeed form alliances and compacts against them, but it would not be under the divine direction, and they would not be able to prevail against the church. The word rendered here ‘gather together’ (גור gûr) means properly ‘to turn aside from the way’; then to sojourn for a time; then to assemble against anyone. It seems here to refer to the gathering together of hostile forces to form an alliance, or to wage war.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
gather together, &c.--that is, If it should happen that enemies "gather together" against thee (Ps 2:2), they will not have been sent by Me (compare Ho 8:4) as instruments of My wrath (nay, it will be with My disapproval); for "whosoever shall gather together," &c.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Shall fall for thy sake “Shall come over to thy side” - For יפול yippol, twenty-eight MSS. (eight ancient) have יפל yipal, in its more common form. For the meaning of the word in this place, see Jer 37:13.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
go far away from oppression [Although grammatically this is the imperative, here it is the future,] like (supra:2) “Shake yourself from the dust.” You will be far away from those who oppress you.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֣ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| גּ֥וֹר | gor | certainly <to quarrel> | H1481 → | 97 times |
| יָג֛וּר | yagur | anyone will quarrel | H1481 → | 97 times |
| אֶ֖פֶס | ʾefes | not | H657 → | 44 times |
| מֵֽאוֹתִ֑י | meoti | from <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִי־ | mi- | whoever | H4310 → | 423 times |
| גָ֥ר | gar | [is] quarreling | H1481 → | 97 times |
| אִתָּ֖ךְ | ʾitakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| עָלַ֥יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִפּֽוֹל׃ | yipol | he will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
הֵ֣ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
גּ֥וֹרcertainly <to quarrel>
gorH1481 →97 times
יָג֛וּרanyone will quarrel
yagurH1481 →97 times
אֶ֖פֶסnot
ʾefesH657 →44 times
מֵֽאוֹתִ֑יfrom <obj.> me
meotiH853 →10935 times
מִי־whoever
mi-H4310 →423 times
גָ֥ר[is] quarreling
garH1481 →97 times
אִתָּ֖ךְwith you
ʾitakhH854 →929 times
עָלַ֥יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
יִפּֽוֹל׃he will fall
yipolH5307 →435 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
Zechariah 2:8For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
it leads to
- Psalms 17:8
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Deuteronomy 32:10
He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
- John 15:21–23
But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me.
- John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
- Psalms 105:13–15
they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
- Psalms 17:8
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…
- Haggai 2:22
I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his…
- Isaiah 54:17
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 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.