Isaiah 66:15
in Isaiah 66For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
KJV
For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
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This verse in Isaiah 66
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For behold, the Lord will come with fire - The Septuagint reads this ‘As fire’ (ὡς πύρ hōs pur). Fire is a common emblem to denote the coming of the Lord to judge and punish his enemies Psa 50:3: Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; A fire shall devour before him, And it shall be very tempestuous round about him. So Hab 2:5: Before him went the pestilence, And burning coals went forth at his feet. So Psa 97:3: A fire goeth before him, And burneth up his enemies round about.
This site's exposition
For behold, the LORD will come with fire
on Isaiah 66:15-17
“For behold, the LORD will come with fire” sets fire against the nursing pictures of verses 11 to 13. Those judged are named by their rites: they eat “swine and vermin and rats”, animals the law forbids at Leviticus 11:7 and 11:29.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
For behold, says the Lord, he shall come in fire, and like a whirlwind or storm shall be his chariot. Which we should understand as the angelic powers, when the Lord is coming in the glory of the Father with his angels, to judge the living and the dead: not that the Lord is fire, but that to those who endure punishment, he appears to be fire. And although Moses said (Deut. IV, 24), the same thing is confirmed by the Apostle (Hebr. XII, 29): God is a consuming fire. However, the Savior, expressing the substance of divinity, says: God is Spirit (John IV, 24). But between spirit and fire, according to corporeal understanding, there is much difference. For if fire or spirit, how is it said that they have eyes, ears, hands, feet, a stomach, and other members of the body, when these do not belong to spirit or fire? Therefore, the consuming fire is called God, so that it may consume whatever vices are in us, like hay, wood, and straw, and thorns, that is, the anxieties of this world, which the unfruitful earth brought forth instead of good seed, of which it is said to the Hebrews: But that which brings forth thorns and thistles is rejected, and is near to being cursed: whose end is to be burned (Hebrews 6:8). The Lord also spoke of this fire in the Gospel: I came to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). And above we read: Iniquity will burn like fire, and dry grass will be consumed by the fire (Isaiah 9:18), and all the weeds that the enemy sowed will grow while the father of the family sleeps (Matthew 13). I believe this fire sat upon the tongues of all the apostles and believers when they spoke in various tongues, and it dispelled the darkness of error and illuminated the hearts of those who received the word of the Lord (Acts 2).
(Verse 15, 16.) For behold, the Lord will come in fire: and like a whirlwind, his chariots, to render his anger with indignation, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the Lord judge, and by his sword, all flesh: and the slain by the Lord shall be multiplied. Septuagint: Behold, the Lord will come like fire, and his chariots like a storm, to render his vengeance in fury: and his rebuke in flames of fire.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he sets out the magnitude of the punishment: for behold the Lord will come with fire, by which the city is to be burned, or by which the world is to be purified; and his chariots, the army of the Chaldeans, in which God …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
With fire - With terrible judgments, or with fire in a proper sense, understanding it of the fire with which enemies use to consume places brought under their power. Whirlwind - With a sudden sweeping judgment. Fury - That is, with fervour; for fury properly taken is not in God.
For, behold, the Lord will come with fire,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
2Pe 3:7). chariots . . . whirlwind-- (Jer 4:13). render--as the Hebrew elsewhere (Job 9:13; Ps 78:38) means to "allay" or "stay wrath." MAURER translates it so here: He stays His anger with nothing but fury," &c.; nothing short of pouring out all His fiery fury will satisfy His wrath. fury--"burning heat" [LOWTH], to which the parallel, "flames of fire," answers.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
The Lord will come with fire “Jehovah shall come as a fire” - For באש baesh, in fire, the Septuagint had in their copy קאש kaesh, as a fire; ὡς πυρ. To render his anger with fury “To breathe forth his anger in a burning heat” - Instead of להשב lehashib, as pointed by the Masoretes, to render, I understand it as להשב lehashshib, to breathe, from נשב nashab.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and the hand of the Lord shall be known When He wreaks His vengeance and His awesome acts, His servants shall know the strength of the might of His hand.
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. 6 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּאֵ֣שׁ | baesh | in <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| יָב֔וֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְכַסּוּפָ֖ה | vekhasufah | and [will be] like the storm-wind | H5492 → | 16 times |
| מַרְכְּבֹתָ֑יו | markevotav | chariots his | H4818 → | 44 times |
| לְהָשִׁ֤יב | lehashiv | to bring back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| בְּחֵמָה֙ | bechemah | with rage | H2534 → | 125 times |
| אַפּ֔וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| וְגַעֲרָת֖וֹ | vegaarato | and rebuke his | H1606 → | 15 times |
| בְּלַהֲבֵי־ | belahavei- | with flames of | H3851 → | 12 times |
| אֵֽשׁ׃ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִנֵּ֤הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּאֵ֣שׁin <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
יָב֔וֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
וְכַסּוּפָ֖הand [will be] like the storm-wind
vekhasufahH5492 →16 times
מַרְכְּבֹתָ֑יוchariots his
markevotavH4818 →44 times
לְהָשִׁ֤יבto bring back
lehashivH7725 →1056 times
בְּחֵמָה֙with rage
bechemahH2534 →125 times
אַפּ֔וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
וְגַעֲרָת֖וֹand rebuke his
vegaaratoH1606 →15 times
בְּלַהֲבֵי־with flames of
belahavei-H3851 →12 times
אֵֽשׁ׃fire
ʾeshH784 →378 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
Psalms 68:17The chariots of God are tens of thousands— thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:2
He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.
- Daniel 7:10
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
- Revelation 5:11
Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
- Revelation 9:16
And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number.
- Deuteronomy 33:2
Through
Isaiah 30:33For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:10
He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.
- Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Jeremiah 19:6
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
- 2 Kings 23:10
Through
Matthew 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
it leads to
- Luke 19:27
And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- Luke 19:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.