He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints.
Parallel Translations
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He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints.
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And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
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And the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, he will consume both soul and body; and it shall be as when a sick man wasteth away.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Isaiah 10:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 19:23 By your messengers, you have defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots, I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field.
- Isaiah 10:33-34 Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
- 2 Kings 19:28 Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.’
- Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
- Jeremiah 21:14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says Yahweh; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all that is around her.’ ”
- Ezekiel 20:47-48 Tell the forest of the South, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. All flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.” ’ ”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain To wit, body and soul utterly.
To wit, body and soul utterly.
When the battle is lost and the standard taken.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 10:18 And shall consume the glory of his…
Isa 10:18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
Ver. 18. And he shall consume the glory of his forest,] i.e., Of his army, cutting his way through a wood of men, and felling the very glory of his glory, even his best soldiers. All this God shall do to his stout warriors and stately princes.
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Both soul and body,] i.e., Full and whole, both here and in hell. {a}
And they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.] Heb., Melteth - i.e., through fear casting away his colours: soon after which the whole regiment is routed, and cannot be rallied.
{a} Ecce hic habes animam ardere. - Oecolamp.
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 Of his forrest; of his great army, which may…
Of his forrest; of his great army, which may not unfitly be compared to a forest, either for the multitude of their spears, which, when lifted up together, resemble the trees of a wood or forest; or for the numbers of men, which stood as thick as trees do in a forest. Of his fruitful field; of his soldiers, which stood as thick as ears of corn do in a fruitful field. Heb. of his Carmel; wherein it is not improbably conjectured by our late most learned Mr. Gataker, that there is an allusion to that brag of the Assyrian, who threatens that he would go up to the sides of (Israel’s) Lebanon, and to the forest of his Carmel, and there cut down the tall cedars thereof: which though it was not uttered by the Assyrian till some years after this time, yet was exactly foreknown to God, who understandeth men’s thoughts, and much more their words, afar off, Psa 139:2-4, and therefore might direct the prophet to use the same words, and to turn them against himself; Whereas thou threatenest to destroy Israel’s Carmel, I will destroy thy Carmel
Both soul and body, i.e. totally, both inwardly and outwardly, both strength and life. Heb. from the soul to the flesh; which may possibly signify the manner of their death, which should be by a sudden stroke of the destroying angel upon their inward and vital parts, which was speedily followed by the consumption of their flesh. See Isa 37:35,36.
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They shall be, the state of that king, and of his great and valiant army, shall be,
as when a standard-bearer fainteth; like that of an army when their standard-bearer either is slain, or rather flees away, which strikes a panic terror into the whole army, and puts them to flight.
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 And the rest of the trees of his forest…
And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few,.... Which were left unconsumed, that escaped this destruction, those of the Assyrian army that fled with Sennacherib their king; which, the Rabbins say (r), were no more than ten, as Jarchi and Kimchi observe; yea, some say there were but five left who escaped, and name them, Sennacherib and his two sons, Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuzaradan:
that a child may write them; count them, and take down their names; and it may be understood of a military muster, and the sense be, that the army should be reduced to so small a number by this stroke upon them, that there would be no need of an able muster master to take the account of them, a child would be equal to such a task. The Targum is,
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"and the rest of his warriors shall fail, that the people shall be a small number, and shall be reckoned a weak kingdom.''
(r) T. Bab. ib. fol. 95. 2. Praefat. Echa Rabbati, fol. 41. 1.
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 The glory - Of his great army, which may…
The glory - Of his great army, which may not unfitly be compared to a forest, for the numbers of men, who stood as thick as trees do in a forest. Field - Of his soldiers, who stood as thick as ears of corn in a fruitful field. Soul and body - Totally, both inwardly and outwardly. They shall be - Like that of an army when their standard-bearer is slain or flees away, which strikes a panic into the whole army.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The glory of his forest - In these expressions,…
The glory of his forest - In these expressions, the army of Sennacherib is compared with a beautiful grove thick set with trees; and as all the beauty of a grove which the fire overruns is destroyed, so, says the prophet, it will be with the army of the Assyrian under the judgments of God. If the ‘briers and thorns’ Isa 10:17 refer to the common soldiers of his army, then the glory of the forest - the tall, majestic trees - refer to the princes and nobles. But this mode of interpretation should not be pressed too far.
And of his fruitful field - וכרמלו vekaremilô. The word used here - “carmel” - is applied commonly to a rich mountain or promontory on the Mediterranean, on the southern boundary of the tribe of Asher. The word, however, properly means a fruitful field, a finely cultivated country, and Was given to Mount Carmel on this account, In this place it has no reference to that mountain, but is given to the army of Sennacherib to “keep up the figure” which the prophet commenced in Isa 10:17. That army, numerous, mighty, and well disciplined, was compared to an extensive region of hill and vale; of forests and fruitful fields; but it should all be destroyed as when the fire runs over fields and forests, and consumes all their beauty. Perhaps in all this, there may be allusion to the proud boast of Sennacherib 2Ki 19:23, that he would ‘go up the sides of Lebanon, and cut down the cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof’, and enter into the forest of Carmel.’ In allusion, possibly, to this, the prophet says that God would cut down the tall trees and desolate the fruitful field - the ‘carmel’ of his army, and would lay all waste.
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Both soul and body - Hebrew, ‘From the soul to the flesh;’ that is, entirely. As the soul and the flesh, or body, compose the entire man, so the phrase denotes the entireness or totality of anything. The army would be totally ruined.
And they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth - There is here a great variety of interpretation. The Septuagint reads it: ‘And he shall flee as one that flees from a burning flame.’ This reading Lowth has followed; but for this there is not the slightest authority in the Hebrew. The Vulgate reads it, ‘And he shall fly for terror, “et crit terrore profugus.” The Chaldee, ‘And he shall be broken, and shall fly.’ The Syriac, ‘And he shall be as if he had never been.’ Probably the correct idea is, “and they shall be as when a sick man wastes away.” The words which are used (נסס כמסס kı̂mesos nosēs) are brought together for the sake of a paranomasia - a figure of speech common in the Hebrew. The word rendered in our version “fainteth” (מסס mesos) is probably the infinitive construct of the verb מסס mâsas, “to melt, dissolve, faint.” It is applied to the manna that was dissolved by the heat of the sun, Exo 16:21; to wax melted by the fire, Psa 68:2; to a snail that consumes away, Psa 58:8; or to water that evaporates, Psa 58:7.
Hence, it is applied to the heart, exhausted of its vigor and spirit, Job 7:5; to things decayed that have lost their strength, 1Sa 15:9; to a loan or tax laid upon a people that wastes and exhausts their wealth. It has the general notion, therefore, of melting, fainting, sinking away with the loss of strength; Psa 22:14; Psa 112:10; Psa 97:5; Isa 19:1; Isa 13:7; Jos 2:11; Jos 5:1; Jos 7:5. The word rendered “standard-bearer” (נסס nosēs) is from the verb נסס nāsas. This word signifies sometimes “to lift up,” to elevate, or to erect a flag or standard to public view, to call men to arms; Isa 5:26; Isa 11:10, Isa 11:12; Isa 13:2; Isa 18:3; Isa 49:22; and also to lift up, or to exhibit anything as a judgment or public warning, and may thus be applied to divine judgments. Gesenius renders the verb, “to waste away, to be sick.” In Syriac it has this signification. Taylor (“Heb. Con.”) says, that it does not appear that this word ever has the signification of a military standard under which armies fight, but refers to a standard or ensign to “call” men together, or to indicate alarm and danger. The probable signification here, is that which refers it to a man wasting away with sickness, whose strength and vigor are gone, and who becomes weak and helpless. Thus applied to the Assyrian army, it is very striking. Though mighty, confident, and vigorous-like a man in full health - yet it would be like a vigorous man when disease comes upon him, and he pines away and sinks to the grave.
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 Glory. Officers. --- Flesh. Or body. All shall perish.…
Glory. Officers. --- Flesh. Or body. All shall perish. (Haydock) --- Fear. Sennacherib escaped alone, and fell by the sword of his own sons.
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 glory of his forest--The common soldiers, the princes, officers,…
glory of his forest--The common soldiers, the princes, officers, &c., all alike together, shall be consumed (see on Isa 9:18).
in one day-- (Isa 37:36).
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fruitful field--literally, "Carmel," a rich mountain in the tribe of Asher. Figurative for Sennacherib's mighty army. Perhaps alluding to his own boasting words about to be uttered (Isa 37:24), "I will enter the forest of his Carmel."
soul and body--proverbial for utterly; the entire man is made up of soul and body.
as when a standard bearer fainteth--rather, "they shall be as when a sick man" (from a Syriac root) wastes away." Compare "leanness," that is, wasting destruction (Isa 10:16) [MAURER]. Or, "there shall be an entire dissipation, like a perfect melting" (namely, of the Assyrian army) [HORSLEY].
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 18. The glory of his forest — The army,…
18. The glory of his forest — The army, compared to a forest for the great number of men, their compact body when in array, and their upraised lances.
His fruitful field — Parallel to “forest;” denoting a park stocked with noble trees; or else, antithetic to “forest,” and meaning a cleared and cultivated field, but applied still to the army in its apparently prosperous state, though soon to be destroyed.
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Both soul and body — Literally, from soul even to the flesh; beginning at the vitals and working to the outward frame; that is, the consumption shall be total.
As when a standardbearer fainteth — And in consequence the whole line of battle melts away in panic. (Kimchi.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) Both soul and body.—Literally, from the soul even…
(18) Both soul and body.—Literally, from the soul even to the flesh. The metaphor is for a moment dropped, and the reality is unveiled.
As when a standardbearer fainteth.—The Authorised version represents the extremity of misery and exhaustion. The “standard-bearer” was chosen for his heroic strength and stature. When he “fainted” and gave way, what hope was there that others would survive? A more correct rendering, however, gives As a sick man pineth away.
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 Forest... fruitful field. "Forest" and "fruitful field" (carmel) are…
Forest... fruitful field. "Forest" and "fruitful field" (carmel) are sometimes united together, sometimes contrasted. Literally, they denote wild and cultivated woodland. Used symbolically, as here, they are not so much intended to designate different parts of Assyria"s glory, as to convey the idea that the destruction will be universal. Both soul and body. Here metaphor is suddenly dropped, and Isaiah shows that he is speaking of the Assyrian people , not of the land or its products. Their destruction, wicked as they were, would be one both of body and soul. As when a standard-bearer fainteth; rather, as when one that is faint fainteth. Utter prostration and exhaustion is indicated, whichever way the passage is translated.
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 They shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth
Isa_10:18
They shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth
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A different rendering
As the pining away of a sick man, better suits a connection in which there is no reference to battle.
Assyria shall be utterly consumed. Thorns and thistles, lordly woods and fruitful fields shall alike perish; or, if any remain, they shall waste away as a man smitten by an incurable disease. (Talbot W. Chambers, D. D.)
The Christian standard bearer
Let me endeavour to present to you one or two features by which a leader in the Christian army ought to be distinguished.
I. THERE MUST BE FIXED AND STRONG PRINCIPLE. The man who is to bear the standard in any army must be devotedly attached to the cause for which the army is contending. The man who is to be a guide and leader in the Christian Church ought certainly to have very definite convictions as to what Christianity is, and as to what the Church is. There are other qualities which may be of eminent service to him--a capacity to take a broad view of all questions, a ready sympathy with all who are struggling after truth, though they may be at present in darkness.
II. THE SECOND QUALIFICATION OF A STANDARD BEARER IS COURAGE. A true standard bearer may be described in a single epithet, taken from one of the prophets, as valiant for the truth. That means that truth is his law. Truth is not with him a thing to be toyed with. It is not so much his possession, but rather he is possessed by the truth; it has laid hold of his reason, enthralled his affections, quickened and inspired his conscience.
III. THERE IS A STILL HIGHER ELEMENT, A STILL NOBLER, MIGHTIER FORCE BY WHICH THE STANDARD BEARER IN THE CHRISTIAN ARMY IS DIRECTED AND GOVERNED, AND THAT IS PERSONAL DEVOTION TO CHRIST. Christ is to him the truth, and Christ only is his law. The most illustrious of the standard bearers of the Christian army, I suppose it would be universally confessed, was the apostle of the Gentiles; and if we study his life and character, we shall perhaps arrive at the best and truest conception of an ideal leader in the Christian army. (J. G. Rogers, B. A.)
A standard bearer
In a sermon on the death of the Rev. G.M. Murphy preached by the Rev. P.J. Turquand, Mr. Turquand said: He carried--
1. The standard of the Cross.
2. The standard of temperance.
3. The standard of education.
4. The standard of justice. (Christian World Pulpit.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.