Isaiah 7:18
in Isaiah 7On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
KJV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHiss for the fly “Hist the fly” - See note on Isa 5:26. Egypt, and - Assyria - Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Pharaoh-necho, and Nebuchadnezzar, who one after another desolated Judea.
This site's exposition
The LORD will bring on you
on Isaiah 7:17-19
The sign turns to warning: a time unlike any since Ephraim split from Judah, when "He will bring the king of Assyria" against Ahaz's house. Ahaz had sought Assyria's help against Aram and Israel, and the power he leans on is the one the Lord now brings against him.
This site's exposition
the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile
The LORD whistled for the nations in 5:26 and whistles again here. Egypt is the fly of the Nile and Assyria the bee, and Barnes takes both as armies. Clarke names the kings who came, Sennacherib and Pharaoh Necho among them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 18, 19) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And it shall come to pass. Here he sets out the manner and order of punishment; and he sets out three things. First, the calling together of their enemies: shall whistle, that is, blow upon, for the fly, that is, for the king of Egypt, …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Rivers - Of the river Nile, which may be called rivers, either for its greatness, or because towards the end of it, it is divided into seven streams. When the Chaldeans had in good measure subdued the Egyptians, it is probable great numbers of the Egyptian soldiers listed themselves in the Chaldean army, and with them invaded the land of Judah.
): The Lord shall whistle for the fly and the bee. Enemies that seem as contemptible as a fly or a bee, and are as easily crushed, shall yet, when God pleases, do his work as effectually as lions and young lions.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And it shall come to pass in that day,.... the time when those evil days before spoken of should take place: that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt; or flies, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; the Egyptians, so called because their country abounded with flies; and because of the multitude of their armies, and the swiftness of their march; this seems to have had its accomplishment when Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt slew Josiah, put his son Jehoahaz, that reigned after him, in bands, placed Eliakim his brother in his stead, and made the land of Judah tributary to him, 2Ki 23:29 though some think either the Edomites or Philistines, that bordered on Egypt, are meant; who in Ahaz's time invaded Judah, and brought it low, 2Ch 28:17 or else the Ethiopians, that inhabited on the furthermost borders of Egypt, and the rivers of it; who either came up separately against Judah, or served under Nebuchadnezzar; see Isa 18:1, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria; the Assyrian army, so called because the country abounded with bees; and because of the number of their armies, their military order and discipline, and their hurtful and mischievous nature. […]
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The prophet Isaiah had his commission renewed in the year that king Uzziah died, ch. vi. Jotham his son reigned, and reigned well, sixteen years. All that time, no doubt, Isaiah prophesied as he was commanded, and yet we have not in this book any of his prophecies dated in the reign of Jotham; but this, which is put first, was in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Figurative, for numerous and troublesome foes from the remotest parts of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh-nechoh. bee-- (De 1:44; As numerous in Assyria as the fly in marshy Egypt. Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, and Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled this prediction.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In that day the Lord shall hiss - see the note at Isa 5:26. For the fly - That is, for the army, or the multitude of people. The comparison of a numerous army with “flies” is not uncommon; see Homer’s “Iliad,” B. ii. 469, etc. - Thick as insects play, The wandering nation of a summer’s day. That, drawn by milky streams at evening hours In gathered swarms surround the rural bowers; From pail to pail with busy murmur run The gilded legions, glittering in the sun. Pope. The comparison is drawn probably from the “number,” but also is intended to indicate the troublesome character, of the invaders. Perhaps, also, there is an allusion here to the well-known fact that one of the ten plagues of Egypt was caused by numerous swarms of flies; Exo 8:21-24. An army would be brought up from that country as numerous, as troublesome, and as destructive as was that swarm of flies. The following description, by Bruce, of a species of flies in Abyssinia and the adjacent regions, will give an idea of the character of this calamity, and the force of the language used here: ‘This insect is called Zimb; it has not been described by any naturalist. It is, in size, very little larger than a bee, of a thicker proportion, and has wings, which are broader than those of a bee, placed separate, like those of a fly: they are of pure gauze, without color or spot upon them; the head is large, the upper jaw or lip is sharp, and has at the end of it a strong pointed hair, of about a quarter of an inch long; the lower jaw has two of these pointed hairs; and this pencil of hairs, when joined together, makes a resistance to the finger, nearly equal to that of a strong hog’s bristle; its legs are serrated in the inside, and the whole covered with brown hair or down. […]
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֣ה׀ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִשְׁרֹ֤ק | yishrok | he will whistle | H8319 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַזְּב֔וּב | lazevuv | for the fly | H2070 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּקְצֵ֖ה | biktzeh | [is] at [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| יְאֹרֵ֣י | yeorei | [the] canals of | H2975 → | 65 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְלַ֨דְּבוֹרָ֔ה | veladevorah | and for the bee | H1682 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּאֶ֥רֶץ | beeretz | [is] in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אַשּֽׁוּר׃ | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
וְהָיָ֣ה׀and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִשְׁרֹ֤קhe will whistle
yishrokH8319 →
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַזְּב֔וּבfor the fly
lazevuvH2070 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּקְצֵ֖ה[is] at [the] end of
biktzehH7097 →97 times
יְאֹרֵ֣י[the] canals of
yeoreiH2975 →65 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְלַ֨דְּבוֹרָ֔הand for the bee
veladevorahH1682 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּאֶ֥רֶץ[is] in [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
אַשּֽׁוּר׃Assyria
ʾashurH804 →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
Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
it leads to
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 17:16
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
- Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- Isaiah 36:9
For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- Psalms 20:7
Through
Joshua 24:12I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:20
Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
- Exodus 23:28
I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
- Deuteronomy 7:20
Through
Isaiah 5:26He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:8
I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
- Zechariah 10:8
Where this verse is studied
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About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 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); 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.