Isaiah 47:14
in Isaiah 47Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
KJV
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
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This verse in Isaiah 47
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd when God afflicts those who deserve punishment, how else is it intended except for their good? It is he who says to the Chaldaeans, "You have coals of fire; sit on them. They shall be a help to you." Further, let them hear what is related in the seventy-seventh psalm, which is ascribed to Asaph, about those who fell in the desert. It says, "When he slew them, then they sought him."
This site's exposition
take your stand with your spells
on Isaiah 47:12-15
“So take your stand with your spells” summons Babylon’s occult resources to the trial. Babylon was famed for reading the heavens, and these disciplines fail when they are needed. “Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up”, and “not one of them can save you.”
This site's exposition
Surely they are like stubble
The flame that burns this stubble is the LORD's judgment, the fire Barnes finds in Isaiah 1:31 and 30:30. Origen, reading the Greek, took the coals as a help that disciplines the Chaldeans for their good. The Hebrew leaves them no coals to warm them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12 and following) Stand with your sorcerers, and with the multitude of your evil deeds, in which you have labored since your youth, if perhaps it will benefit you, or if you can become stronger. You have failed in the multitude of your plans: let the astrologers of the heavens stand and save you, who observe the stars and calculate the months, to announce to you what is to come.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he threatens the wise with burning: behold they are as stubble, the wise among you; there are no coals wherewith they may be warmed, but by which the whole city may be burned, or because the city was burned in wintertime, so that they …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Or, rather, it denotes that they shall be utterly consumed by the judgments of God, burnt quite to ashes, and there shall not remain one live coal to do any body any service; for when God judges he will overcome. (5.) They are upbraided with their merchants, and those they dealt with (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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
Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them,....
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)
Behold, they shall be as stubble - They shall be no more able to resist the judgments which are coming upon the city, than dry stubble can resist the action of the fire. A similar figure is used in Isa 1:31 (see the notes at that verse). Compare also Isa 29:6; Isa 30:30, where fire is a symbol of the devouring judgments of God. They shall not deliver themselves - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘Their souls.’ The meaning is, that they would be unable to protect themselves from the calamities which would come upon them and the city.
THIS text is part of a terrible description of God's judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea. The Prophet had clearly written out the indictment of the Lord against that tyrannical people, and having proved their guilt he pronounces their sentence. He accused them of showing no mercy to the inheritance of the Lord which, in His wrath, He had given into their hands. He charges them with pride and boastfulness, for Chaldea had said in her heart, "I am and there is none beside me." And Babylon had boasted, "I shall be a lady forever. I shall see no sorrow."
THIS text is part of a terrible description of God's judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea. The Prophet had clearly written out the indictment of the Lord against that tyrannical people, and having proved their guilt he pronounces their sentence. He accused them of showing no mercy to the inheritance of the Lord which, in His wrath, He had given into their hands. He charges them with pride and boastfulness, for Chaldea had said in her heart, "I am and there is none beside me." And Babylon had boasted, "I shall be a lady forever. I shall see no sorrow." He testifies against their over-boldness and presumption. For they were given to pleasures and lived carelessly, expecting no ill. Thus said the Prophet, speaking in the name of the Lord, "You have trusted in your wickedness: you have said, None sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you. And you have said in your heart, I am and none else beside me." On account of these iniquities the destruction of Chaldea and Babylon was to be sudden, terrible and complete. They were to be so utterly destroyed, that there should not be one single comfortable rejection connected with their state. There should be a fire to consume but none to warm at. The burning should not be as when wood crackles in the flame, when glowing ashes or a charred log may be left, but they should be as stubble, utterly consumed, without vestige or remembrance. How to the very letter this has been fulfilled let the modern discoveries of our great travelers tell. We want no better evidence of the truthfulness and Divinity of Scripture than that which is furnished by prophecies which have been fulfilled in lands concerning which we had no knowledge until of late.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הָי֤וּ | hayu | they have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְקַשׁ֙ | khekash | like chaff | H7179 → | 16 times |
| אֵ֣שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| שְׂרָפָ֔תַם | serafatam | it has burned them | H8313 → | 117 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַצִּ֥ילוּ | yatzilu | they will deliver | H5337 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשָׁ֖ם | nafsham | self their | H5315 → | 754 times |
| מִיַּ֣ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לֶֽהָבָ֑ה | lehavah | [the] flame | H3852 → | 19 times |
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| גַּחֶ֣לֶת | gachelet | [will be] coal | H1513 → | |
| לַחְמָ֔ם | lachmam | to warm them | H2552 → | 21 times |
| א֖וּר | ʾur | a fire | H217 → | 6 times |
| לָשֶׁ֥בֶת | lashevet | to sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| נֶגְדּֽוֹ׃ | negdo | before it | H5048 → | 151 times |
הִנֵּ֨הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הָי֤וּthey have become
hayuH1961 →3559 times
כְקַשׁ֙like chaff
khekashH7179 →16 times
אֵ֣שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
שְׂרָפָ֔תַםit has burned them
serafatamH8313 →117 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַצִּ֥ילוּthey will deliver
yatziluH5337 →212 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשָׁ֖םself their
nafshamH5315 →754 times
מִיַּ֣דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
לֶֽהָבָ֑ה[the] flame
lehavahH3852 →19 times
אֵין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
גַּחֶ֣לֶת[will be] coal
gacheletH1513 →
לַחְמָ֔םto warm them
lachmamH2552 →21 times
א֖וּרa fire
ʾurH217 →6 times
לָשֶׁ֥בֶתto sit
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
נֶגְדּֽוֹ׃before it
negdoH5048 →151 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
Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
it leads to
- Luke 12:4–5
I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
- Isaiah 8:12–13
“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
- Revelation 2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Romans 8:35–39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
- Luke 12:4–5
Through
Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:24
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- 2 Peter 3:7
And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- Isaiah 5:24
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); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 444: “The Portion Of The Ungodly” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 2:5.3 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.