Isaiah 7:19
in Isaiah 7And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes and watering holes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all pastures.
KJV
And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And they shall come - The idea in this verse is, that they would spread over the land, and lay it waste. The poetic image of flies and bees is kept up; meaning, that the armies would be so numerous as to occupy and infest all the land. And shall rest - As bees do. Thus the “locusts” are said to have “rested” in all the land of Egypt; Exo 10:14. In the desolate valleys - The word translated “valleys” usually means “a valley with a brook,” or a brook itself.
This site's exposition
The LORD will bring on you
on Isaiah 7:17-19
The sign turns to warning: a time unlike any since Ephraim split from Judah, when "He will bring the king of Assyria" against Ahaz's house. Ahaz had sought Assyria's help against Aram and Israel, and the power he leans on is the one the Lord now brings against him.
This site's exposition
in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks
The swarm settles everywhere, from the ravines to the watering holes. Barnes keeps the image of flies and bees and reads it as armies covering the whole land. Aquinas notes the places named, valleys for water and rocks for defense, as the ones an army holds.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 18, 19) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the multitude of their enemies: and they shall come, and shall all of them rest in the torrents of the valleys, for the benefit of water, which usually runs in valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, for fortification, and upon all places …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And they shall come,....
The prophet Isaiah had his commission renewed in the year that king Uzziah died, ch. vi. Jotham his son reigned, and reigned well, sixteen years. All that time, no doubt, Isaiah prophesied as he was commanded, and yet we have not in this book any of his prophecies dated in the reign of Jotham; but this, which is put first, was in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Holes of the rocks “Caverns” - So the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, whence Houbigant supposes the true reading to be הנחללים hannachalolim. One of my oldest MSS. reads הנחלולים hannochalolim.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָ֨אוּ | uvau | and they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְנָח֤וּ | venachu | and they will settle | H5117 → | 142 times |
| כֻלָּם֙ | khulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנַחֲלֵ֣י | benachalei | in [the] wadis of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| הַבַּתּ֔וֹת | habatot | the cliffs | H1327 → | |
| וּבִנְקִיקֵ֖י | uvinkikei | and in [the] clefts of | H5357 → | |
| הַסְּלָעִ֑ים | haselaim | the rocks | H5553 → | 58 times |
| וּבְכֹל֙ | uvekhol | and on all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנַּ֣עֲצוּצִ֔ים | hanaatzutzim | the thornbushes | H5285 → | |
| וּבְכֹ֖ל | uvekhol | and in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנַּהֲלֹלִֽים׃ | hanahalolim | the watering-places | H5097 → |
וּבָ֨אוּand they will come
uvauH935 →2568 times
וְנָח֤וּand they will settle
venachuH5117 →142 times
כֻלָּם֙all of them
khulamH3605 →5413 times
בְּנַחֲלֵ֣יin [the] wadis of
benachaleiH5158 →141 times
הַבַּתּ֔וֹתthe cliffs
habatotH1327 →
וּבִנְקִיקֵ֖יand in [the] clefts of
uvinkikeiH5357 →
הַסְּלָעִ֑יםthe rocks
haselaimH5553 →58 times
וּבְכֹל֙and on all
uvekholH3605 →5413 times
הַנַּ֣עֲצוּצִ֔יםthe thornbushes
hanaatzutzimH5285 →
וּבְכֹ֖לand in all
uvekholH3605 →5413 times
הַנַּהֲלֹלִֽים׃the watering-places
hanahalolimH5097 →
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
Isaiah 2:19Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:10
Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 2:10
Through
Jeremiah 16:16But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain…
it leads to
- Revelation 6:15–17
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Habakkuk 1:14–15
You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler.
- Amos 4:2
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
- Micah 7:2
The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
- Revelation 6:15–17
Through
Isaiah 2:21They will flee to caverns in the rocks and crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:19
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Isaiah 2:19
Through
Micah 7:17They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of…
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…
- Psalms 72:9
May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
- Isaiah 49:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.