Isaiah 1:30
28 But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
29 Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water.
31 The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water.
- KJV
- For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
- WEB
- For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water.
- ASV
- For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
- DARBY
- For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
- BLB
- For you⁺ will be like an oak [at] the withering of its leaf, and a garden for which [there is] no water.
- ÅB
- for dere skal bli som en ek med visne blad og som en have uten vann.
- OTB
- For dere skal bli som en eik hvis blad visner, og som en hage uten vann.
- B1930
- for I skal bli som en ek med visne blad og som en have uten vann.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Jeremiah 17:5–6
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.
Read in contextIsaiah 5:6
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
Read in contextJeremiah 31:12
They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD— the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.
Read in contextIsaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Read in contextEzekiel 17:24
Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
Read in contextEzekiel 17:9–10
So you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Will it flourish? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it shrivels? All its foliage will wither! It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by its roots.
Read in contextMatthew 21:19
Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.
Read in contextEzekiel 31:4–18
The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.
Read in context