Isaiah 1:7 kjv

Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Isaiah 1:7 nkjv

Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Isaiah 1:7 niv

Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

Isaiah 1:7 esv

Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.

Isaiah 1:7 nlt

Your country lies in ruins,
and your towns are burned.
Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes
and destroy everything they see.

Isaiah 1 verses

Isaiah 1 7 Meaning

This verse paints a vivid picture of severe national judgment, describing Judah as a land devastated and ruined. It illustrates the physical consequences of the people's spiritual rebellion: their countryside lies waste, their cities are consumed by fire, and foreign invaders brazenly seize their livelihood while the people watch helplessly. The repeated emphasis on "desolate" underscores the totality of the destruction, directly linking their current calamitous state to their unfaithfulness to God's covenant.

Isaiah 1 7 Context

Isaiah chapter 1 serves as God's severe indictment against Judah for its pervasive spiritual rebellion and unfaithfulness. The opening verses present a lament from God, who sees His people, nourished and raised, acting worse than oxen or donkeys in their lack of understanding and knowledge. This profound spiritual sickness is immediately followed by a graphic description of its physical manifestation. Verse 7 specifically illustrates the immediate, devastating consequences: their covenant land is laid waste, their cities burnt, and their resources plundered by foreign forces. This state of desolation stands in stark contrast to the blessings promised for obedience within the covenant.

Historically, Isaiah prophesied during the turbulent 8th century BCE, a time when the Assyrian Empire was rapidly expanding and threatening the existence of Judah. While Jerusalem would miraculously be spared in 701 BCE under Hezekiah, the surrounding areas often experienced severe destruction, and the ultimate Babylonian exile in 586 BCE brought total ruin to Jerusalem, fulfilling such prophecies of desolation. The "strangers" thus primarily refer to Assyrian invaders in Isaiah's immediate context, but the prophetic message encompasses subsequent destroyers. This depiction directly challenges any cultural belief that mere external ritual or the unique status of Jerusalem would automatically protect them, regardless of their moral and spiritual decay. It powerfully asserts that Yahweh Himself orchestrated these calamities as divine judgment for a people who had become alienated from Him.

Isaiah 1 7 Word analysis

• "Your country" (אֶרְצְכֶם - artzəḵem): From the Hebrew word erets, referring to the land, specifically the Promised Land given to Israel as a divine inheritance. Its desolation signifies the withdrawal of God's blessing and the breach of the covenant promise tied to the land.

• "is desolate" (שְׁמָמָה - šəmāmâ): From shamem, meaning "to be stunned, be desolated." It conveys a state of utter ruin, a deserted wasteland. This term frequently appears in prophetic literature to describe the outcome of divine judgment and covenant curses.

• "your cities" (עָרֵיכֶם - ‘ārêḵem): Refers to the populated centers, the heart of Judah's civilization and defense. Their destruction speaks to the collapse of societal order and protection, impacting urban life profoundly.

• "are burned with fire" (שְׂרוּפֹת אֵשׁ - sərûfōṯ ’ēš): Saraph means "to burn," ’ēš is "fire." Fire is a powerful biblical motif, symbolizing severe judgment, often divine wrath and cleansing, signifying total destruction that consumes.

• "strangers" (זָרִים - zārim): From zur, meaning "to be estranged, alien." These are foreign, hostile entities—nations or armies—who are explicitly shown as instruments of God's judgment, bringing calamity upon Judah.

• "devour" (אֹכְלִים - ’oḵlîm): From ’ākal, "to eat." This is a forceful and complete consumption, signifying the ruthless plundering of the land's resources, leaving nothing for the inhabitants. It highlights profound deprivation and loss of livelihood.

• "your land" (אַדְמָתְכֶם - ’aḏmāṯeḵem): Another word for land, adamah, often specifically referring to cultivated, arable soil. Its use here, distinct from erets, underscores the destruction of the agricultural basis of life and sustenance.

• "in your presence" (לְנֶגְדְּכֶם - ləneḡdədəḵem): Literally "before your eyes" or "before you." This detail emphasizes the humiliation, helplessness, and unavoidable witness of their own devastation. It adds a dimension of profound shame to the judgment.

• "it is desolate" (שְׁמָמָה - šəmāmâ): A direct repetition of the initial "desolate." This literary device emphatically underlines the pervasive and complete nature of the ruin, solidifying the impression of widespread devastation.

• "as overthrown by strangers" (כְּמַהְפֵּכַת זָרִים - kəmahap̄pēḵaṯ zārim): Mahapekhah means "overthrow, ruin, subversion." This term implies a complete, catastrophic overturn, often with divine involvement, similar to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The simile confirms the divine, purposeful nature of the foreign invaders' actions.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire": This parallelism creates a comprehensive image of national ruin, encompassing both the open cultivated land and the urban centers. It graphically depicts the physical consequences of the land's spiritual state.
  • "strangers devour your land in your presence": This phrase underscores the active and direct agency of the foreign invaders in consuming Judah's sustenance. The emphasis on "in your presence" highlights the forced, humiliating impotence of the people to defend their own property and lives.
  • "it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers": The repetition of "desolate" strengthens the grim reality, emphasizing that the ruin is absolute. The comparison to an "overthrow" like that of Sodom underscores the cataclysmic nature of this divine judgment, confirming that the "strangers" are instruments in God's hand.

Isaiah 1 7 Bonus section

The strong imagery in Isaiah 1:7 deliberately echoes the covenant curses detailed in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. This connection clarifies that the devastating condition of Judah is not merely the outcome of geopolitical struggles, but a direct fulfillment of the conditional promises within the covenant God made with Israel. It emphasizes that God keeps His word, both in blessing and in judgment. Despite the severity of this picture, this judgment is ultimately redemptive and disciplinary. God, in His steadfast love, allows such desolation to occur not for utter annihilation but to bring His people to repentance, a theme that will unfold in prophecies of restoration later in Isaiah. The desolation is a purposeful divine act, aimed at calling Judah back into right relationship with their Holy God.

Isaiah 1 7 Commentary

Isaiah 1:7 is a lament over the direct and visible consequences of Judah's spiritual apostasy. It paints a picture of extreme suffering and humiliation. The imagery is visceral: a once-fertile land lies wasted, the symbols of civilization (cities) are ravaged by fire, and foreign hands brazenly consume the fruits of their labor. The phrase "in your presence" is particularly poignant, capturing the people's powerlessness and shame as they are forced to witness the systematic destruction of all they hold dear. This is not a random calamity, but the grim harvest of chronic disobedience, an outpouring of God's judgment promised in the covenant. The "strangers" are not accidental antagonists but divinely permitted instruments of discipline, enforcing the terms of a broken covenant. This verse acts as a profound wake-up call, emphasizing that genuine faith extends beyond ritual to heartfelt obedience, for ignoring God's righteous standards leads to severe and unavoidable repercussions.

• Examples for practical usage:
  • Like a neglected garden producing only thorns and weeds instead of fruit (reflecting spiritual fruitlessness).
  • A student witnessing their exam grade decline due to persistent refusal to study (seeing direct consequences of actions).
  • A person seeing their body's health deteriorate from a consistent lifestyle of unhealthy choices (a vivid, visible decline).