Isaiah 14:30
in Isaiah 14Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain.
KJV
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
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This verse in Isaiah 14
Commentary
11 notes on this verseMoreover, those who have not broken the rod and yoke of their oppressor, but have submitted their neck to the Lord, and are poor in spirit, will be nourished, and will say: The Lord feeds me, and nothing will be lacking for me (Ps. 122:1). And they will hear from the Lord: I will feed them in fertile pastures (Ezek. 34; John 10); and they will enter and leave, and will find pastures.
This site's exposition
the year that King Ahaz died
on Isaiah 14:28-32
The Philistia burden is dated plainly, "In the year that King Ahaz died," a shorter burden. Philistia is told not to rejoice, because "a viper will spring from the root of the snake," a worse danger. Zion's poor find safety while smoke comes from the north against Philistia.
This site's exposition
Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the firstborn of the poor as the needy, like the children of the needy in Psalm 72:4, grazing in safety. Aquinas applied the phrase to Israel, called God's firstborn in Exodus 4:22. Clarke reports that the Targum read the verse of the Messiah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 30.) And the firstborn of the poor will be fed, and the poor will rest confidently. When the ruler strikes you, and the flying dragon devastates your boundaries, you will not plot against Judah, and you will not frighten my humble people with your deceit; but crushed by your own troubles, you will weep for your calamity. But the humble and poor, who did not trust in wealth and power, but in my name, will rest in secure peace and will not fear the attack of any enemy. And I will make your root perish in famine, and I will destroy your remnants. He is speaking entirely in figures. The meaning is that, while the people of God are confidently resting, the root of the Philistines will dry up, and all the remnants will be consumed.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, he foretells the effect of the punishment, in all things as to the fruitfulness of the land: and the firstborn of the poor shall be fed, that is, the Jews, about which it says in Exodus 4:22: Israel is my firstborn; and as to …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed,....
The injuries done to them must be reckoned for and revenged upon their persecutors. Mercy to Jacob will be wrath and ruin to Jacob's impenitent implacable adversaries, such as Babylon was.
That which was their strength, and with which they thought themselves established as the tree is by the root, shall be starved and dried up by degrees, as those die that die by famine; and thus he shall slay the remnant: those that escape from one destruction are but reserved for another; and, when there are but a few left, those few shall at length be cut off, for God will make a full end.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And the first-born of the poor, etc. - The Targum goes on applying all to the Messiah. “And the poor of the people shall he feed, and the humble shall dwell securely in his days: and he shall kill thy children with famine, and the remnant of thy people shall he slay.” I will kill “He will slay” - The Septuagint reads המית hemith, to the third person, ανελει; and so the Chaldee. The Vulgate remedies the confusion of persons in the present text, by reading both the verbs in the first person.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Compare Ps 72:4, "Children of the needy," expressing those "needy in condition." feed--image from a flock feeding in safety. root--radical destruction. He shall slay--Jehovah shall. The change of person, "He" after "I," is a common Hebraism.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the first-born of the poor shall feed - That is, there shall be safety to those parts of Judah which have long been exposed to the invasions of the Philistines. Philistia bordered on Judea, and was constantly making wars upon it, so that there was no safety felt. Isaiah now says, that Hezekiah would so effectually and completely subdue them that there should be no danger from their invasion. The phrase ‘the first-born of the poor’ is an Hebraism, a strong, emphatic expression, denoting those who are the most poor; the most abject sons of poverty; those who have an eminence or a double portion of need, as the first-born among the Hebrews were entitled to special distinctions and privileges. The idea is, that even the most poor and defenseless would be safe. Shall feed - That is, they shall be supplied with food; they shall feed safely as a flock does that is guarded from wild beasts. They shall be no longer alarmed, but shall dwell in security, peace, and plenty. And I will kill thy root - The word rendered ‘root’ denotes properly the root of a plant, which being dried up or killed, the plant of course withers and dies. So God says that he would effectually and entirely destroy the power of the Philistines. Slay thy remnant - That is, shall slay all that pertains to thee. Or, he shall dry up the root, and the branches shall wither and die also. The whole power of the nation shall be withered and destroyed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְרָעוּ֙ | verau | and they will graze | H7462 → | 177 times |
| בְּכוֹרֵ֣י | bekhorei | [the] firstborn<s> of | H1060 → | |
| דַלִּ֔ים | dalim | poor [people] | H1800 → | 47 times |
| וְאֶבְיוֹנִ֖ים | veevyonim | and needy [people] | H34 → | 61 times |
| לָבֶ֣טַח | lavetach | to security | H983 → | 42 times |
| יִרְבָּ֑צוּ | yirbatzu | they will lie down | H7257 → | 30 times |
| וְהֵמַתִּ֤י | vehemati | and I will put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בָֽרָעָב֙ | varaav | by <the> famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| שָׁרְשֵׁ֔ךְ | shareshekh | root your | H8328 → | 33 times |
| וּשְׁאֵרִיתֵ֖ךְ | usheeritekh | and remnant your | H7611 → | 66 times |
| יַהֲרֹֽג׃ | yaharog | it will kill | H2026 → | 167 times |
וְרָעוּ֙and they will graze
verauH7462 →177 times
בְּכוֹרֵ֣י[the] firstborn<s> of
bekhoreiH1060 →
דַלִּ֔יםpoor [people]
dalimH1800 →47 times
וְאֶבְיוֹנִ֖יםand needy [people]
veevyonimH34 →61 times
לָבֶ֣טַחto security
lavetachH983 →42 times
יִרְבָּ֑צוּthey will lie down
yirbatzuH7257 →30 times
וְהֵמַתִּ֤יand I will put to death
vehematiH4191 →839 times
בָֽרָעָב֙by <the> famine
varaavH7458 →101 times
שָׁרְשֵׁ֔ךְroot your
shareshekhH8328 →33 times
וּשְׁאֵרִיתֵ֖ךְand remnant your
usheeritekhH7611 →66 times
יַהֲרֹֽג׃it will kill
yaharogH2026 →167 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
Isaiah 33:16he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
it leads to
- Luke 12:29–31
And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.
- Isaiah 32:18
Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
- Isaiah 49:10
They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
- Proverbs 1:33
But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”
- Psalms 37:3
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Luke 12:29–31
Through
Isaiah 3:15Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Psalms 94:5
They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage.
- Micah 3:2–3
You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.
- Psalms 94:5
Through
Isaiah 51:19These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you?
it leads to
- Amos 7:2
And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
- Amos 7:2
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, 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.