My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.”
Parallel Translations
-
My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.”
-
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
-
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Isaiah 10:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 31:25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
- Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
- Proverbs 21:6-7 Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death. The violence of the wicked will drive them away, because they refuse to do what is right.
- Isaiah 5:8 Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
- Jeremiah 49:16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Hosea 12:7-8 A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud. Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich, I have found myself wealth. In all my wealth they won’t find in me any iniquity that is sin.”
- Obadiah 1:4 Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Nahum 2:9–3:1 Take the plunder of silver. Take the plunder of gold, for there is no end of the store, the glory of all goodly furniture. She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale. Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, the lion’s cubs, and no one made them afraid? The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with the kill, and his dens with prey. “Behold, I am against you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.” Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn’t depart.
- Habakkuk 2:5-11 Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. An arrogant man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples. Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’ Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim? Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it. Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul. For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 10:14 And my hand hath found as a…
Isa 10:14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs [that are] left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
Ver. 14. And my hand had found.] See Isa 10:10.
Read full note →
As a nest.] Or, As in a nest, where a man need but only put in his hand and take out the birds or eggs, and hath none to withstand him. Thrasonica Allegoria.
The riches of the people.] Whereon they sat abrood, as it were, but I have unnested and despoiled them. They meanwhile, as silly doves, saved themselves by flight, not fight; or else, sitting in their dove cots, saw their nests destroyed, young ones taken away and killed before their eyes, never offering to rescue or revenge.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Hath found as a nest; as one findeth young…
Hath found as a nest; as one findeth young birds in a nest, the nest being put for the birds in it, as Deu 32:11. No less easily do I both find and take them.
Eggs that are left; which the dam hath left in her nest. This is more easy than the former; for the young birds might possibly make some faint resistance, or flutter away; but the eggs could do neither.
Read full note →
All the earth; all the riches of the earth or world. An hyperbole not unusual in the mouths of such persons, upon such occasions.
That moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped; as birds do, which, when they see and cannot hinder the robbing of their nests, express their grief and anger by hovering about them, and by mournful cries.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth…
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?.... Hitherto are the words of the Assyrian monarch; and here begin the words of the prophet, rebuking him for his pride, and deriding his vain boasting, in attributing that to himself, to his wisdom and power, who was but an instrument, which belonged to God, the sole Governor and wise orderer of all things; which was all one as if an axe should ascribe the cutting down of trees to itself, and insist on it that the man that cut with it had no share in the action, nor was it to be ascribed to him; than which nothing is more absurd. The sense is, that the king of Assyria, in taking cities, and conquering kingdoms, and adding them to his own, was only an instrument in the hand of God, like an axe in the hand of one that hews down trees; and therefore it was vain and ridiculous to take that to himself which belonged to the Lord, on whom he depended as an instrument, as to motion, operation, and effect; from whom he had all power to act, all fitness for it, and efficacy in it, as the axe has from the person that makes and uses it, or any other instrument, as follows:
or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? or draws it to and fro; which is the sense of the Targum, Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin versions, and others; and which further exposes the vanity and arrogance of the Assyrian monarch, who had no more concern in the spoiling of nations, and destruction of kingdoms, than the saw has in cutting of timber that is hewn; which has its form, its sharp teeth, not of itself, but from the maker; and when thus made, and fit for use, cannot draw itself to and fro, and cut trees in pieces, which are felled by the axe, but must be moved by another; and to insult the mover of it, as if it was not his act, but its own, is not more absurd than what this haughty prince was guilty of, in boasting of his power, wisdom, and prudence, in the above mentioned things:
Read full note →
as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up (m); for such was the king of Assyria, he was no other than the rod of the Lord's anger, Isa 10:5 and which he lifted up, and with it chastised his people; wherefore for him to behave haughtily against the Lord, and arrogate that to himself which was the Lord's doing, was as if a rod should shake itself against him that lifts it up; or, "as if a rod should shake those that lift it up": as if there were more power in the rod than in them that take it up and strike with it; yea, that even the rod moves them, and not they the rod, which is wretchedly absurd:
or, as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood (n); but something more than wood, an animate creature, a rational agent, whereas it is nothing else but wood; or "as if a staff should lift up" itself against that which is "not wood", like itself, but is a man, that can move himself and that too; or "as if a staff should lift up" that which is "not wood"; attempt to bear, carry, move, and direct that which is not material like itself, but is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, even the almighty God. De Dieu thinks that is not a verb, but a noun of the plural number, of "a mountain": and renders it, "as if a rod should shake those that lift it up: and as if a staff were mountains, and not wood". The Targum is,
"when a rod is lifted up to smite, it is not the rod that smites, but he that smites with it.''
The sense is, that the Assyrian monarch was only a rod and staff in the hand of the Lord, and only moved and acted as used by him; whereas, according to his vain boast, he was the sole agent, and all was done by his own power and prudence; and was so far from being moved and directed by the power and providence of God, that he was the director of him; which is infinitely more absurd than the things instanced in.
(m) Ben Melech observes, that this is to be understood of the blessed God; and the word being in the plural number, it is the same way, of speaking as in Josh. xxiv. 19. "the Holy Gods is he".
(n) Gussetius thinks this clause contains an ironical answer to the above questions, "shall the axe boast itself?" &c.; "shall the saw magnify itself?" &c.; they should, "as the rod should shake itself" &c.; just in like manner as that does, and so by lifting up itself, ceases to be wood; and which being sarcastically spoken, carries in it a strong negative, that the axe and saw should not glory, or magnify themselves, and no more should the king of Assyria. Vid. Comment. Ebr. p. 360.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Eggs - Which the dam left in her nest.…
Eggs - Which the dam left in her nest. Gathered - All the riches of the earth. An hyperbole not unusual in the mouths of such persons. Peeped - As birds do, which, when they see the robbing of their nest, express their grief and anger, by hovering about them, and by mournful cries.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And my hand hath found, as a nest -…
And my hand hath found, as a nest - By a beautiful and striking figure here, the Assyrian monarch is represented as describing the ease with which he had subdued kingdoms, and rifled them of their treasures. No resistance had been offered. He had taken them with as little opposition as a rustic takes possession of a nest, with its eggs or young, when the parent bird is away.
Eggs that are left - That is, eggs that are left of the parent bird; when the bird from fright, or any other cause, has gone, and when no resistance is offered.
Read full note →
Have I gathered all the earth - That is, I have subdued and plundered it. This shows the height of his self-confidence and his arrogant assumptions.
That moved the wing - Keeping up the figure of the nest. There was none that offered resistance; as an angry bird does when her nest is about to be robbed.
Or opened the mouth - To make a noise in alarm. The dread of him produced perfect silence and submission.
Or peeped - Or that chirped - the noise made by young birds; the note at Isa 8:19. The idea is, that such was the dread of his name and power that there was universal silence. None dared to resist the terror of his arms.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Nest. Some put these words in the mouth of…
Nest. Some put these words in the mouth of God. (Tertullian) (Abdias 4.) --- But they shew the insolence of Sennacherib.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain nest--implying the ease with which he carried off all…
nest--implying the ease with which he carried off all before him.
left--by the parent bird.
Read full note →
none . . . moved . . . wing--image from an angry bird resisting the robbery of its "nest."
peeped--chirped even low (Isa 8:19). No resistance was offered me, of deed, or even word.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. The same self-glorifying goes on.
14. The same self-glorifying goes on.
My hand hath found — Has only to reach out and seize.
Read full note →
As a nest — As easy as an undefended bird’s nest.
Riches of — The wealth of the peoples whom I attack, so powerless are they to resist.
Eggs that are left — Abandoned by the parent bird.
That moved the wing — “None fluttered the wing, or opened the beak, or peeped.” The figure is carried here to eggs hatched, and young birds, which also had abandoned the nest. The word chirped or peeped is the same as in Isa_8:19, where it means the low cry of false soothsayers, here it is the cry of young birds whom the spoiler’s hand snatches away. In Isa_38:14, the same word means (Authorized Version) the cry or chatter of a swallow or a crane. The boaster means, that such everywhere is the dread of his name there is universal silence. None dare to resist his terrible assaults.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. The magnificent simile represents the ease with which…
14. The magnificent simile represents the ease with which the Assyrians had rifled the countries of their treasures, and the panic terror which their approach everywhere produced.
or peeped] R.V. chirped; the same word as in Isa_8:19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) My hand hath found as a nest.—The inscription…
(14) My hand hath found as a nest.—The inscription of Sargon presents an almost verbal parallelism (Records of the Past, vii. 28). In other documents the king looks on himself as a colossal fowler, and the kingdoms are but as birds’-nests for him to spoil, and the nests are left empty.
There was none that . . . peeped—i.e., chirped. See Note on Isa_8:19. Not a fledgling was left in the nests which the royal fowler had despoiled.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain My hand hath found as a nest the riches…
My hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people; rather, of the peoples. The Assyrians are fond of comparing their enemies to birds ("Records of the Past," vol. 7. pp. 36, 62, etc.); but the exact metaphor here used does not, I believe, occur in the inscriptions. The nations" treasures are like eggs found in deserted nests, which the hunter gathers without any, even the slightest, risk. All the earth. Oriental hyperbole. Assyrian monarchs often say that they "have subdued all the races of men," or "carried the glory of their name to the ends of the earth," or "overthrown the armies of the whole world in battle." Peeped; rather, chirped. (see note on Isa_8:19) None of the inhabitants offered even such feeble resistance as a bird makes when its nest is robbed.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And my hand hath found as a nest the…
Isa_10:14
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people
Read full note →
A proud boast of utter subjugation
The Assyrian conqueror has gathered all the earth as one gathers the eggs from which he has first driven off the terrified hen bird.
But she would hover round her rifled nest and its plunderer with a trepidating flight and piercing cry, than which no movements and sounds in the brute creation express more anguish; while these spoiled nations dare not show even such instinctive signs of a broken heart, but know a depth beyond that depth--there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or chirped. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
Easy conquest
I have taken by my might the riches of the people, with as great ease as a countryman takes young birds out of a nest; yea, as one taketh and gathereth eggs which the bird hath forsaken--which is easier than to take birds. (W. Day, M. A.)
Unholy brag
Strange that ever men, who were made to do good, should take a pride and take a pleasure in doing wrong or doing mischief to all about them without control, and should reckon that their glory which is their shame. (M. Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh is still quoting the king of Assyria. (See: Isaiah 10:13)
Read full note →
My hand has seized
The hand is a metonym for either the king's power or his army. AT: "In my power I have seized" or "My army has seized" (See: Metonymy)
My hand has seized, as from a nest, the wealth of nations
The king of Assyria compares taking the treasures from the nations to a person taking eggs out of a bird's nest. This emphasizes how easy it was for him and his army to conquer these other kingdoms. AT: "My army has stolen the wealth from the nations just as easily as a man takes eggs from a nest" (See: Simile)
as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth
The king of Assyria speaks of taking over nations as if he was gathering eggs. AT: "just as a person takes eggs from a nest when the bird is not there to protect them, my army has taken the treasures of every nation" (See: Simile)
None fluttered their wings or opened their mouth or chirped
This compares the nations to a bird who sits quietly while her eggs are taken. This emphasizes that the nations did nothing while the army of Assyria took all of their possessions. AT: "And like a bird that does not make a sound or flap her wings when someone steals her eggs, the nations did nothing as we took their treasure" (See: Simile)
translationWords
hand
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.