Isaiah 47:11
in Isaiah 47But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not.
KJV
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
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This verse in Isaiah 47
Commentary
11 notes on this verseTherefore shall evil come upon thee,.... The evil of punishment, a great calamity; so Nebuchadnezzar foretold, as Abydenus relates (o), that συμφορη, a calamity, should come upon the Babylonians; a day of evil, because of the above sins Babylon was guilty of: thou shall not know from whence it riseth; from what quarter it will come, little dreaming of Cyrus, with whom the Chaldeans had had no quarrel.
This site's exposition
O lover of luxury who sits securely
on Isaiah 47:8-11
Twice she claims what the LORD says in the chapters around it, “I am, and there is none besides me”. The two losses, “loss of children, and widowhood”, come “in a moment, in a single day”. Verse 10 names the cause, “Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray”.
This site's exposition
how to charm it away
Barnes connects the word behind charm it away with shachar, the dawn, and follows the margin that reads the disaster's morning as hidden from her. Gill names the quarter it came from. Babylon had no quarrel with Cyrus and never dreamed the calamity would rise from him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Suddenly, [Isaiah] says, you will receive destruction and undergo the misfortunes that you do not expect. "[There shall be] a pit, and you shall fall into it; and grief shall come on you, and you cannot be cleared." Symmachus and Aquila have rendered the translation …
(Verse 8, onwards) And now listen to this, you delicate and confident one, who says in your heart: I am, and there is no one besides me; I will not sit as a widow, nor will I know the loss of children. But suddenly these two things will come upon you in one day: widowhood and loss of children. They have come upon you in their entirety because of the multitude of your sorceries and the great abundance of your enchantments. And you have trusted in your wickedness, and you have said: There is no one who sees me.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, he sets out the punishment they merited because of this: evil shall come upon you, and you shall not know the rising thereof, he says this in the manner of astrologers, who teach that we should consider the rising of kingdoms according to the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
4 As for our redeemer, the L ORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v4-6
) and thou shalt have neither time nor way to provide against it, or to prepare for it; for thou shalt not know whence it rises, and therefore shalt not know where to stand upon thy guard." Thou shalt not know the morning thereof; so the Hebrew phrase is.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore shall evil come upon thee - In consequence of thy pride and self-confidence; of the prevalence of corruption, licentiousness, and sin; of the prevalence of the arts of magic and of divination abounding there; and of the cruel and unfeeling oppression of the people of God; for all these crimes ruin shall come certainly and suddenly upon thee. Thou shalt not know from whence it cometh - Margin, ‘The morning thereof.’ The margin expresses the true sense of the phrase. The word used here (שׁחר shachar) means “the aurora,” the dawn, the morning (see the notes at Isa 14:12).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
from whence it riseth--Hebrew, "the dawn thereof," that is, its first rising. Evil shall come on thee without the least previous intimation [ROSENMULLER]. But dawn is not applied to "evil," but to prosperity shining out after misery (Isa 21:12).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth “Thou shalt not know how to deprecate” - שחרה shachrah; so the Chaldee renders it, which is approved by Jarchi on the place; and Michaelis Epim. in Praelect. xix.; see Psa 78:34. Videtur in fine hujus commatis deese verbum, ut hoc membrum prioribus respondeat. “A word appears to be wanting at the end of this clause to connect it properly with the two preceding.” - Secker. In order to set in a proper light this judicious remark, it is necessary to give the reader an exact verbal translation of the whole verse: - “And evil shall come upon thee, thou shalt not know how to deprecate it; And mischief shall fall upon thee, thou shalt not be able to expiate it; And destruction shall come suddenly upon thee, thou shalt not know” - What? how to escape, to avoid it, to be delivered from it? perhaps צאת ממנה tseth mimmennah, “they could not go out from it, “Jer 11:11. I am persuaded that a phrase is here lost out of the text. But as the ancient versions retain no traces of it, and a wide field lies open to uncertain conjecture, I have not attempted to fill up the chasm, but have in the translation, as others have done before me, palliated and disguised the defect, which I cannot with any assurance pretend to supply. - L.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
your wisdom and your knowledge Your wisdom and the evil of your heart that perverted you. They turned your heart to be perverted, envesede in O.F. It perverted you from the way of other people (other daughters [mss. and K’li Paz]).
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. 7 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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָ֧א | uva' | and it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלַ֣יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רָעָ֗ה | raah | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵדְעִי֙ | tedei | you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| שַׁחְרָ֔הּ | shachrah | to charm away it | H7837 → | 23 times |
| וְתִפֹּ֤ל | vetipol | and it may fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עָלַ֙יִךְ֙ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הֹוָ֔ה | hovah | disaster | H1943 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תוּכְלִ֖י | tukheli | you will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| כַּפְּרָ֑הּ | kaperah | to cover it | H3722 → | 102 times |
| וְתָבֹ֨א | vetavo' | and it may come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלַ֧יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּתְאֹ֛ם | pitom | suddenly | H6597 → | 25 times |
| שׁוֹאָ֖ה | shoah | ruin | H7722 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵדָֽעִי׃ | tedai | you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
וּבָ֧אand it will come
uva'H935 →2568 times
עָלַ֣יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
רָעָ֗הcalamity
raahH7451 →662 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵדְעִי֙you will know
tedeiH3045 →945 times
שַׁחְרָ֔הּto charm away it
shachrahH7837 →23 times
וְתִפֹּ֤לand it may fall
vetipolH5307 →435 times
עָלַ֙יִךְ֙on you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
הֹוָ֔הdisaster
hovahH1943 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תוּכְלִ֖יyou will be able
tukheliH3201 →194 times
כַּפְּרָ֑הּto cover it
kaperahH3722 →102 times
וְתָבֹ֨אand it may come
vetavo'H935 →2568 times
עָלַ֧יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
פִּתְאֹ֛םsuddenly
pitomH6597 →25 times
שׁוֹאָ֖הruin
shoahH7722 →
לֹ֥א[which] not
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵדָֽעִי׃you will know
tedaiH3045 →945 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
1 Thessalonians 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
it leads to
- Luke 21:34–35
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Matthew 24:37–39
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Luke 17:26–30
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Revelation 18:7–8
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow…
- Psalms 73:18–20
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Luke 21:34–35
Through
Psalms 50:22Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
it leads to
- Job 8:13
Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
- Psalms 9:17
The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.
- Job 8:13
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 14:47.11 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.