Isaiah 10:7
in Isaiah 10But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.
KJV
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
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This verse in Isaiah 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verseGod designs to correct his people for, and so to cure them of, their hypocrisy, and bring them nearer to himself; but was that Sennacherib's design? No, it was the furthest thing from his thoughts-- he means not so. Note, (1.) The wise God often makes even the sinful passions and projects of men subservient to his own great and holy purposes.
This site's exposition
Woe to Assyria, the rod
on Isaiah 10:5-7
Assyria is "the rod of My anger," sent "against a godless nation." The text separates commission from intention, "But this is not his intention; this is not his plan," since Assyria means to destroy many nations. God sends the nation, and the nation pursues its ambition.
This site's exposition
it is in his heart to destroy
The LORD means to correct His people, and the king of Assyria means to cut off nations. Matthew Henry named the king Sennacherib and said that God's plan was the furthest thing from his heart. That gap is why verse 12 punishes Assyria.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5 and following) Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hands is my fury. I will send him against a deceitful nation, and I will command him against the people of my wrath, to take the spoil and seize the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not understand this, and his heart does not take it to heart, but his purpose is to destroy and cut off nations. For my princes are not also kings? Is not Charcamis like Chalanno, and Arphad like Emath?
The Medieval Church1 voice
But he shall not take it so. Here the abuse of the power conceded to the Assyrian is set out, insofar as he exceeded the ends of the mandate; and first, his intention is set out; second, the motive of his intention is set out: …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Howbeit - He doth not design the execution of my will, but only to enlarge his own empire. Which is seasonably added, to justify God in his judgments threatened to the Assyrian. To cut off - To sacrifice multitudes of people to his own ambition and covetousness.
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Sinners' plans are no less culpable, though they by them unconsciously fulfil God's designs (Ps 76:10; So Joseph's brethren (Ge 50:20; The sinner's motive, not the result (which depends on God), will be the test in judgment. heart to destroy . . . not a few--Sennacherib's ambition was not confined to Judea.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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
Howbeit he meaneth not so - It is not his purpose to be the instrument, in the hand of God, of executing his designs. He has a different plan; a plan of his own which he intends to accomplish. Neither doth his heart think so - He does not intend or design it. The “heart” here, is put to express “purpose, or will.” It is “in his heart to cut off nations - Utterly to destroy or to annihilate their political existence. Not a few - The ambitious purpose of Sennacherib was not confined to Judea.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהוּא֙ | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כֵ֣ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יְדַמֶּ֔ה | yedameh | he intended | H1819 → | 30 times |
| וּלְבָב֖וֹ | ulevavo | and heart his | H3824 → | 252 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כֵ֣ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יַחְשֹׁ֑ב | yachsho | it planned | H2803 → | 124 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְהַשְׁמִ֣יד | lehashmid | to destroy | H8045 → | 90 times |
| בִּלְבָב֔וֹ | bilvavo | [is] in heart his | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וּלְהַכְרִ֥ית | ulehakhrit | and to cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| גּוֹיִ֖ם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְעָֽט׃ | meat | a few | H4592 → | 101 times |
וְהוּא֙and he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
כֵ֣ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
יְדַמֶּ֔הhe intended
yedamehH1819 →30 times
וּלְבָב֖וֹand heart his
ulevavoH3824 →252 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
כֵ֣ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
יַחְשֹׁ֑בit planned
yachshoH2803 →124 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְהַשְׁמִ֣ידto destroy
lehashmidH8045 →90 times
בִּלְבָב֔וֹ[is] in heart his
bilvavoH3824 →252 times
וּלְהַכְרִ֥יתand to cut off
ulehakhritH3772 →288 times
גּוֹיִ֖םnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מְעָֽט׃a few
meatH4592 →101 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
Genesis 50:20As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
it leads to
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Psalms 119:71
It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.
- Genesis 45:5–8
And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.
- Genesis 37:18–20
Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.
- Acts 2:23
He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
- Romans 8:28
Through
Acts 2:23He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
it leads to
- Acts 4:28
They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.
- Acts 3:18
But in this way God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer.
- Genesis 50:20
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- Acts 4:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; 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.