Isaiah 9:20 BSB — MannaFest

Isaiah 9:20

They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And one shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

KJV

And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

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Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah (420)

(Vers. 14 seqq.) And the Lord will scatter from Israel the head and the tail, the bend and the corrupt in one day. The venerable and honorable, he is the head; and the Prophet teaching falsehood, he is the tail. And there will be those who call this people blessed, deceiving, and those who are called blessed, being cast down. Therefore, the Lord will not rejoice over his young men, and will not have mercy on his orphans and widows, for every hypocrite is wicked, and every mouth has spoken foolishness.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry,.... Either with his hand, and rob and plunder all within his reach; or, with his teeth, as cannibals, or beasts of prey, catch at, tear, and rend in pieces, whatever comes in their way; and yet hungry after more, and unsatisfied, as follows: and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied; ravage and spoil on every side, and yet not content.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The hedge of property, which is a hedge of protection to men's estates, shall be plucked up, and every man shall think all that his own which he can lay his hands on ( vivitur ex rapto, non hospes ab hospite tutus--they live on the spoil, and the rites of hospitality are all violated ); and yet, when men thus catch at that which is none of their own, they are not satisfied.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

The flesh of his own arm “The flesh of his neighbor” - “Του βραχιονος του αδελφου αυτου, the Septuagint Alexand. Duplex versio, quarum altera legit רעו reo, quae vox extat, Jer 6:21. Nam רע rea, αδελφος, Gen 43:33. Recte ni fallor.” - Secker. I add to this excellent remark, that the Chaldee manifestly reads רעו reo, his neighbor, not זרעו zeroo, his arm; for he renders it by קריביה karibeyh, his neighbor. And Jeremiah has the very same expression: ואיש בשר רעהו יאכלו veish besar reehu yochelu, “and every one shall eat the flesh of his neighbor,” Jer 19:

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

13 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּגְזֹ֤ר	vai.yig.Zor	and it devoured	H1504 →
עַל־	'al-	on	H5921 →
יָמִין֙	ya.Min	[the] right [side]	H3225 →
וְרָעֵ֔ב	ve.ra.'Ev	and it was hungry	H7456 →
וַיֹּ֥אכַל	vai.Yo.khal	and it ate	H398 →
עַל־	'al-	on	H5921 →
שְׂמֹ֖אול	se.Mol	[the] left [side]	H8040 →
וְלֹ֣א	ve.Lo'	and not	H3808 →
שָׂבֵ֑עוּ	sa.Ve.'u	they were satisfied	H7646 →
אִ֥ישׁ	'ish	everyone	H376 →
בְּשַׂר־	be.sar-	[the] flesh of	H1320 →
זְרֹע֖וֹ	ze.ro.'O	own arm his	H2220 →
יֹאכֵֽלוּ׃	yo.Khe.lu	they ate	H398 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Lamentations 4:10
The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
leads to
- 2 Kings 6:26–29
  As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Isaiah 49:26
I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your…
leads to
- Isaiah 41:14–20
  Do not fear, O worm of Jacob, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 9:4
  For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
- Revelation 16:6
  For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Isaiah 43:3
  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
- Psalms 9:16
  The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
Through
Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
leads to
- Leviticus 26:29
  You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
- Lamentations 4:10
  The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

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