Isaiah 47:9
in Isaiah 47These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.
KJV
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
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This verse in Isaiah 47
Commentary
14 notes on this verseAnd what follows describes very clearly the arrogance of the kingdom of the Chaldeans and the foolishness of their royal people, in such a way that they ascribed to themselves immortal power and an indestructible rule. However, suddenly you will experience a loss of men and the destruction of your children—that is, men to rule among you, and children meaning those to be ruled. These things will come at once upon you and reveal you abandoned and childless. This will affect you not only through these things proclaimed but also through the extent of sorceries and incantations.
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
in a moment, in a single day
Eusebius reads widowhood and loss of children as a kingdom stripped at once of its rulers and of the people they rule. Barnes stresses the speed, a city overthrown suddenly and unexpectedly. Her many sorceries and spells stand powerless against it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Two plagues shall come to you in one day," because you were deceived by the art of the Chaldeans and ignored your doom. "The loss of children and widowhood shall come on you," that is, sterility. The loss of children indicates the destruction of the …
(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
Suddenly, unexpectedly, above: the destruction thereof shall come on a sudden, when it is not looked for (Isa 30:13): give them, O Lord, a womb without children (Hos 9:14). Third, the multitude of their sorceries: all things. And he sets out three things. First, the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Widowhood is not to them a calamity in perfection, for they have this to comfort themselves with, that their Maker is their husband; loss of children is not, for he is better to them than ten sons.
"These evils shall come upon thee to punish thee for the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thy enchantments. " Witchcraft is a sin in its own nature exceedingly heinous; it is giving that honour to the devil which is due to God only, making God's enemy our guide and the father of lies our oracle.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is presumption to say of any creature, "It is, and there is not its like, there is none besides it" (for creatures stand very nearly upon a level with one another); but it is insufferable arrogance for any to say so of themselves, and an evidence of their self-ignorance.
Virgin - So, called, because she was tender and delicate. The empire is taken from thee, and translated to the Persians. Millstones - Thou shalt be brought to the basest slavery, which grinding at the mill was esteemed.
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment on one day,.... Suddenly, at once, at one and the same time.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In a moment, in one day - This is designed, undoubtedly, to describe the suddenness with which Babylon would be destroyed. It would not decay slowly, and by natural causes, but it would not decay slowly, and by natural causes, but it would be suddenly and unexpectedly destroyed.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in a moment--It should not decay slowly, but be suddenly and unexpectedly destroyed; in a single night it was taken by Cyrus. The prophecy was again literally fulfilled when Babylon revolted against Darius; and, in order to hold out to the last, each man chose one woman of his family, and strangled the rest, to save provisions.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
These two things shall come to thee in a moment - That is, suddenly. Belshazzar was slain; thus the city became metaphorically a widow, the husband - the governor of it, being slain. In the time in which the king was slain, the Medes and Persians took the city, and slew many of its inhabitants, see Dan 5:30, Dan 5:31. When Darius took the city, he is said to have crucified three thousand of its principal inhabitants. In their perfection “On a sudden” - Instead of בתמם bethummam, “in their perfection,” as our translation renders it, the Septuagint and Syriac read, in the copies from which they translated, פתאם pithom, suddenly; parallel to רגע rega, in a moment, in the preceding alternate member of the sentence. The concurrent testimony of the Septuagint and Syriac, favored by the context, may be safely opposed to the authority of the present text. For the multitude “Notwithstanding the multitude” - ברב berob. For this sense of the particle ב beth, see Num 14:11.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְתָבֹאנָה֩ | vetavonah | so they may come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לָּ֨ךְ | lakh | to you | ||
| שְׁתֵּי־ | shetei- | both of | H8147 → | 768 times |
| אֵ֥לֶּה | ʾeleh | these [things] | H428 → | 746 times |
| רֶ֛גַע | rega' | a moment | H7281 → | 22 times |
| בְּי֥וֹם | beyom | in a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| שְׁכ֣וֹל | shekhol | childlessness | H7908 → | |
| וְאַלְמֹ֑ן | vealmon | and widowhood | H489 → | |
| כְּתֻמָּם֙ | ketumam | according to completeness their | H8537 → | |
| בָּ֣אוּ | bau | they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלַ֔יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּרֹ֣ב | bero | in [the] abundance of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| כְּשָׁפַ֔יִךְ | keshafayikh | sorceries your | H3785 → | |
| בְּעָצְמַ֥ת | beatzemat | in [the] power of | H6109 → | |
| חֲבָרַ֖יִךְ | chavarayikh | spells your | H2267 → | |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very many | H3966 → | 300 times |
וְתָבֹאנָה֩so they may come
vetavonahH935 →2568 times
לָּ֨ךְto you
lakh
שְׁתֵּי־both of
shetei-H8147 →768 times
אֵ֥לֶּהthese [things]
ʾelehH428 →746 times
רֶ֛גַעa moment
rega'H7281 →22 times
בְּי֥וֹםin a day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
שְׁכ֣וֹלchildlessness
shekholH7908 →
וְאַלְמֹ֑ןand widowhood
vealmonH489 →
כְּתֻמָּם֙according to completeness their
ketumamH8537 →
בָּ֣אוּthey will come
bauH935 →2568 times
עָלַ֔יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
בְּרֹ֣בin [the] abundance of
beroH7230 →149 times
כְּשָׁפַ֔יִךְsorceries your
keshafayikhH3785 →
בְּעָצְמַ֥תin [the] power of
beatzematH6109 →
חֲבָרַ֖יִךְspells your
chavarayikhH2267 →
מְאֹֽד׃very many
meodH3966 →300 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 73:19How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:11
But 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…
- Daniel 5:6
his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
- Isaiah 47:11
Through
Nahum 3:4because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:12–13
So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
- Isaiah 47:12–13
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 12 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); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 47:9; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:32; 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.