Isaiah 47:14

Judgment

¹² So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!

¹³ You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you— your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.

Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.

¹⁵ This is what they are to you— those with whom you have labored and traded from youth— each one strays in his own direction; not one of them can save you.

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: Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.
KJV: Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
WEB: Behold, they are like stubble. The fire will burn them. They won’t deliver themselves from the power of the flame. It won’t be a coal to warm at or a fire to sit by.
ASV: Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
DARBY: Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, [nor] fire to sit before it.
BLB: Behold, they have become like stubble, [and] the fire burns them [up]; they will not deliver their soul from the hand of the flame—[there is] not a coal to warm, [nor] fire to sit before it!

ÅB: Se, de er som halm, ilden brenner dem opp, de kan ikke redde sitt eget liv fra flammens makt; det er ingen glør å varme seg ved, ingen ild å sitte omkring.
OTB: Sannelig, de er som halm; ilden vil fortære dem. De kan ikke redde seg selv fra flammens kraft. Dette er ikke en kull for oppvarming, heller ikke en ild å sitte ved.
B1930: Se, de er som halm, ilden brenner dem op, de kan ikke redde sitt eget liv fra luens makt; det er ingen glør å varme sig ved, ingen ild å sitte omkring.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
Read in context
Nahum 1:10
For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard— like stubble that is fully dry.
Read in context
Ezekiel 15:7
And I will set My face against them. Though they may have escaped the fire, yet another fire will consume them. And when I set My face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:17
And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles.
Read in context
Isaiah 41:2
Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness ? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
Read in context
Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Read in context
Jeremiah 51:32
The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers are terrified.”
Read in context
Isaiah 30:14
It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”
Read in context