Isaiah 47:11 kjv
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
Isaiah 47:11 nkjv
Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.
Isaiah 47:11 niv
Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.
Isaiah 47:11 esv
But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.
Isaiah 47:11 nlt
So disaster will overtake you,
and you won't be able to charm it away.
Calamity will fall upon you,
and you won't be able to buy your way out.
A catastrophe will strike you suddenly,
one for which you are not prepared.
Isaiah 47 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 13:6 | Howl ye; for the day of the LORD [is] at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. | Day of the Lord, Judgment |
| Jeremiah 4:20 | Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. | Sudden Destruction |
| Jeremiah 6:26 | O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee a mourning, like the mourning for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. | Sudden Attack |
| Jeremiah 30:12 | For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, [and] thy wound is grievous. | Incurable Affliction |
| Ezekiel 28:10 | Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. | Death by Strangers |
| Amos 5:10 | They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they detest him that speaketh uprightly. | Rejection of Counsel |
| Zephaniah 1:14 | The great day of the LORD [is] near, [is] near, and hasteneth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. | Great Day of the Lord |
| Matthew 24:44 | Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. | Unexpected Arrival |
| 1 Thessalonians 5:2 | For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. | Day of the Lord as Thief |
| Revelation 18:7 | How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and anguish take unto her. Give her as much torment and sorrow as she glorified herself and lived in luxury. | Judgment for Luxury |
| Proverbs 1:27 | When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. | Fear and Destruction |
| Proverbs 24:22 | For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both? | Sudden Calamity |
| Psalm 35:8 | Let destruction come upon him unawares; and let his net that he hath put in, secretly catch himself: into that destruction let him fall. | Unforeseen Destruction |
| Daniel 11:44 | But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. | Trouble from the North |
| Nahum 1:9 | What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. | Affliction Will Not Rise Twice |
| Jeremiah 46:8 | Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are turned up as a river? | Inundation |
| Isaiah 8:10 | Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not proceed: for God [is] with us. | Futility of Counsel |
| Luke 17:30 | Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. | Revealed Son of Man |
| Revelation 17:16 | And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. | Desolation of Babylon |
| Job 15:21 | A grievous evil is prepared for him: he trusteth not in God to turn him away from his destruction. | Trust Not in God |
Isaiah 47 verses
Isaiah 47 11 Meaning
Disaster will befall you; you will not know how to ward it off. Ruin will suddenly come upon you, making you unable to stop it.
Isaiah 47 11 Context
This verse is part of Isaiah's prophecy against Babylon. Babylon had grown proud and declared itself a perpetual ruler. Isaiah pronounces judgment upon Babylon for its arrogance, idolatry, and oppression of God's people. The chapter details the downfall of this powerful empire, emphasizing the suddenness and totality of its destruction. The immediate context focuses on Babylon's belief in its invincibility and its inability to escape divine judgment. The historical backdrop is the ascendancy of Babylon as a major world power in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, eventually conquering Jerusalem and exiling the Judeans.
Isaiah 47 11 Word Analysis
- וְתֵרֵד (vĕtêrêd): "And it shall descend" or "and it shall come down." This word conveys a sense of a dramatic fall or downfall from a high position. It signifies the lowering or humbling of something once exalted.
- שׁוֹאָה (shoh'ah): "Calamity," "destruction," "ruin," or "tempest." This noun describes an overwhelming disaster, often sudden and devastating, like a raging storm that sweeps everything away.
- בִּלְתִּי (bilty): "Without," "not having," or "without possessing." It introduces a negation, highlighting an absence or lack.
- יָדַעַתְּ (yada'at): "You shall know." This is the perfect tense of the verb yada', meaning to know, to understand, or to recognize. Here, it speaks of a future knowledge that will come too late.
- לְהַשְׁקִיט (lehashqîyt): "To quiet," "to calm," or "to still." In this context, it means to find rest from, to avert, or to find peace from the approaching calamity.
- מַכָּה (makkhah): "Stroke," "blow," "wound," or "destruction." This noun refers to a striking blow or a defeat, implying a force that strikes and brings harm.
- מִמֶּנָּה (mimmennah): "From her" or "from it." This pronoun refers back to Babylon.
- לְהַעֲמִיד (leha'amîyd): "To cause to stand," "to set up," or "to sustain." Here, it signifies being able to stand firm against the impending destruction or to prop up a failing state.
Words-group analysis:
- " Disaster will descend" (וְתֵרֵד שׁוֹאָה - vĕtêrêd shoh'ah): This phrase paints a vivid picture of a catastrophe arriving with crushing force. It’s not a gentle decline but an imposition of disaster.
- "you will not know how to ward it off" (בִּלְתִּי יָדַעַתְּ לְהַשְׁקִיט - bilty yada'at lehashqîyt): This speaks to the utter helplessness of Babylon. Despite its power and perceived wisdom, it will be unable to find any remedy or protection against the coming judgment. The "knowing" is absent for preventative action.
- "Ruin will come suddenly" (מַכָּה תָּבֹא עָלַיִךְ - makkâ tavō' 'alayik): The structure implies that a specific "stroke" or "blow" of ruin is imminent, emphasizing its singular, overwhelming nature and its personal impact on Babylon ("upon you").
Isaiah 47 11 Bonus Section
The imagery of a storm-like destruction (שׁוֹאָה - shoh'ah) is a common prophetic motif for divine judgment, emphasizing its indiscriminate and overwhelming nature. The phrase "you will not know how to ward it off" points to the prophetic understanding of divine sovereignty, where earthly powers are ultimately subject to God's will. The inability to "make it stand" suggests the collapse of all supports and defenses that Babylon had relied upon. The absolute nature of this disaster, from which no respite can be found, underscores the severity of Babylon's transgressions and the comprehensiveness of God's judgment. The chapter as a whole provides a strong example of "antithetical parallelism," contrasting Babylon's proud claims with the stark reality of its impending ruin.
Isaiah 47 11 Commentary
This verse encapsulates the futility of relying on worldly power and wisdom when facing divine judgment. Babylon, a symbol of human pride and empire, believed itself invulnerable. However, Isaiah declares that its anticipated security will be shattered by a sudden, unstoppable calamity. The inability to "know how to ward it off" or "make it stand" highlights the impotence of human efforts against God's decree. This is a profound theological statement: true security is found not in empires or self-reliance, but in righteousness and submission to the Lord. The "ruin" is a divinely ordained consequence that no earthly power can circumvent.