Isaiah 8:10
in Isaiah 8Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
KJV
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
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This verse in Isaiah 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 9, 10.) Gather together, O people, and be conquered, and listen, all far away lands: be strengthened and be conquered. Gird yourselves, and be conquered: take counsel, and it shall be dissipated: speak a word, and it shall not be, because God is with us. Regarding the phrase 'gather together, or be weakened, and be broken,' as others have interpreted, the Septuagint translated it as 'know.' For the Hebrew word, Rou (), because of the resemblance of the letter Res () and Daleth (), they understood it as Dou ().
This site's exposition
Huddle together, O peoples
on Isaiah 8:9-10
The prophet addresses the nations directly, and the verdict "be shattered" comes three times like a drumbeat mocking every alliance formed against Judah. The refrain closes on the meaning of the child's name from chapter 7, "For God is with us," Immanuel confessed as the reason for confidence.
This site's exposition
For God is with us
The closing words translate the name Immanuel from 7:14 and 8:8. Henry reads the verse that way, and Barnes takes the whole address as a challenge to the nations that plotted against Judah. Their plans fail as the plot of 7:5 failed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
280. As to counsel: take counsel together, and it shall be defeated: who catches the wise in their craftiness, and scatters the counsel of the wicked (Job 5:13); there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord (Prov 21:30). …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For God is with us " (this refers to the name of Immanuel--God with us ); "the Messiah is to be born among us, and a people designed for such an honour cannot be given up to utter ruin. We have now the special presence of God with us in his temple, his oracles, his promises, and these are our defence.
Take counsel together,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take counsel together - This is an address to the same foreign nations. It refers to the designs which they would form to destroy the Jewish state. Speak the word - That is, give the command - to overturn the nation of the Jews. It shall not stand - It shall not be accomplished. For God is with us - Hebrew ‘For Immanuel.’ It indicates the confidence of the prophet in view of the promise and the pledge. His reliance was there.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
with the overwhelming power of prophecy [Lit., with strength of the hand.] When the prophecy became more intensive over me, when He continued to speak concerning this matter, as it is written above (v. 5): “And the Lord continued to speak to me.
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. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֻ֥צוּ | ʾutzu | plan | H5779 → | |
| עֵצָ֖ה | ʾetzah | a plan | H6098 → | 89 times |
| וְתֻפָ֑ר | vetufar | so it may be frustrated | H6565 → | 50 times |
| דַּבְּר֤וּ | daberu | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| דָבָר֙ | davar | a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָק֔וּם | yakum | it will stand | H6965 → | 628 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עִמָּ֖נוּ | ʾimanu | [is] with us | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֵֽל׃ ס | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
עֻ֥צוּplan
ʾutzuH5779 →
עֵצָ֖הa plan
ʾetzahH6098 →89 times
וְתֻפָ֑רso it may be frustrated
vetufarH6565 →50 times
דַּבְּר֤וּspeak
daberuH1696 →1141 times
דָבָר֙a word
davarH1697 →1440 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָק֔וּםit will stand
yakumH6965 →628 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עִמָּ֖נוּ[is] with us
ʾimanuH5973 →1050 times
אֵֽל׃ סGod
ʾelH410 →241 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
Romans 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- 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…
- Psalms 118:6
Through
Job 5:12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 21:11
Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.
- Psalms 33:10–11
The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- Proverbs 21:30
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.