Isaiah 9:21
in Isaiah 9Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
KJV
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
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This verse in Isaiah 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(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.
This site's exposition
They carve out what is
on Isaiah 9:20-21
Hunger drives the nation to devour itself, "Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring," want turned entirely inward. Manasseh and Ephraim, brother tribes of one father, turn on each other and "together they turn against Judah," civil strife added to foreign invasion. The refrain closes the chapter.
This site's exposition
Manasseh devours Ephraim
Manasseh and Ephraim were the two sons of Joseph. The last years of the northern kingdom brought murdered kings and rival claimants, recorded in 2 Kings 15. Matthew Henry observed that tribes able to unite against Judah were at war with one another.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he explains this metaphor as to kinsmen: Manasses Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses, who were both sons of Joseph. Third, as to enemies: they together shall be against Judah: every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully (Jer 9:4). Above: and the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh,.... That is, "Manasseh" shall eat or devour "Ephraim"; and "Ephraim" shall eat or devour "Manasseh"; as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; which is to be understood of their quarrels, contentions, and wars among themselves, whereby they bit, devoured, and consumed each other, though they were brethren; which explains and confirms what is before said, of no man sparing his brother, and everyone eating the flesh of his own arm.
Those that could unite against Judah could not unite with one another; but that sinful confederacy of theirs against their neighbour that dwelt securely by them was justly punished by this separation of them one from another. Or Judah, having sinned like Manasseh and Ephraim, shall not only suffer with them, but suffer by them.
Three things are here promised, and they all point ultimately at the grace of the gospel, which the saints then were to comfort themselves with the hopes of in every cloudy and dark day, as we now are to comfort ourselves in time of trouble with the hopes of Christ's second coming, though that be now, as his first coming then was, a thing at a great distance.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Manasseh, Ephraim - This verse is a continuation of the statement in regard to the extent and fearfulness of the faction. Those who were hitherto most tenderly and intimately allied to each other, would now be engaged in furious strife. Manasseh and Ephraim were the two sons of Joseph Gen 46:20, and their names are used as expressive of tender union and friendship; compare Gen 48:20. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were near each other, and they always were allied together.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Manasseh, Ephraim--the two sons of Joseph. So closely united as to form between them but one tribe; but now about to be rent into factions, thirsting for each other's blood. Disunited in all things else, but united "together against their brother Judah" (2Ki 15:10, 30).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"They (the thickets of the forest) shall lift themselves proudly aloft [the Hebrew is from a Syriac root, a cock, expressing stateliness of motion, from his strutting gait, HORSLEY], in (in passing into) volumes of ascending smoke" [MAURER].
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְנַשֶּׁ֣ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶפְרַ֗יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| וְאֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ | veefrayim | and Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | |
| יַחְדָּ֥ו | yachdav | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
| הֵ֖מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | for all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זֹאת֙ | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁ֣ב | shav | it has turned back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אַפּ֔וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| וְע֖וֹד | veod | and still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| יָד֥וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| נְטוּיָֽה׃ ס | netuyah | [is] stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
מְנַשֶּׁ֣הManasseh
menashehH4519 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶפְרַ֗יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
וְאֶפְרַ֙יִם֙and Ephraim
veefrayimH669 →180 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מְנַשֶּׁ֔הManasseh
menashehH4519 →
יַחְדָּ֥וtogether
yachdavH3162 →141 times
הֵ֖מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
בְּכָל־for all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
זֹאת֙this
zotH2063 →603 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁ֣בit has turned back
shavH7725 →1056 times
אַפּ֔וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
וְע֖וֹדand still
veodH5750 →490 times
יָד֥וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
נְטוּיָֽה׃ ס[is] stretched out
netuyahH5186 →214 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
Galatians 5:15But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 3:3
for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
- James 3:14
But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Galatians 5:26
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
- 2 Corinthians 11:20
In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.
- 2 Corinthians 12:20
For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage,…
- 1 Corinthians 3:3
Through
Isaiah 5:25Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:17
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 10:4
Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isaiah 9:17
Through
Isaiah 9:12Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:25
Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 5:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonLate monarchyManassehJudah's longest-reigning and worst king, who filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; the book names his apostasy as the cause of 586…
- PlaceJudeaEphraimThe town near the wilderness where Jesus withdrew with His disciples before the last Passover (John 11:54).
This page draws on 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
