The firstborn of the poor will eat, and the needy will lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant will be killed.
Parallel Translations
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The firstborn of the poor will eat, and the needy will lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant will be killed.
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And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
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And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Isaiah 14:30 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 7:21-22 It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep. It shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter; for everyone will eat butter and honey that is left within the land.
- Zephaniah 2:4-7 For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up. Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! Yahweh’s word is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant. The sea coast will be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will find pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down in the evening, for Yahweh, their God, will visit them, and restore them.
- Job 18:13 The members of his body will be devoured. The firstborn of death will devour his members.
- Isaiah 3:15 What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- Isaiah 5:17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich.
- Isaiah 8:21 They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,
- Isaiah 9:20 One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:
- Isaiah 30:23-24 He will give the rain for your seed, with which you will sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground will be rich and plentiful. In that day, your livestock will feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory feed, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.
- Isaiah 33:16 he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
- Isaiah 37:30 “ ‘This shall be the sign to you. You will eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from it; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
- Isaiah 51:19 These two things have happened to you— who will grieve with you?— desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. How can I comfort you?
- Isaiah 65:13-14 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed; Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
- Jeremiah 47:1-7 Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck Gaza. Yahweh says: “Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and will become an overflowing stream, and will overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and those who dwell therein. The men will cry, and all the inhabitants of the land will wail. At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers don’t look back to their children for feebleness of hands; because of the day that comes to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for Yahweh will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor. Baldness has come on Gaza; Ashkelon is brought to nothing, the remnant of their valley: how long will you cut yourself? “ ‘You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself back into your scabbard; rest, and be still.’ “How can you be quiet, since Yahweh has given you a command? Against Ashkelon, and against the seashore, there has he appointed it.”
- Ezekiel 25:15-17 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because the Philistines have taken revenge, and have taken vengeance with contempt of soul to destroy with perpetual hostility;” therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will stretch out my hand on the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I lay my vengeance on them.” ’ ”
- Joel 3:4-8 “Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head. Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my finest treasures into your temples, and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border. Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, and will return your repayment on your own head; and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the men of Sheba, to a faraway nation, for Yahweh has spoken it.”
- Amos 1:6-8 Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole community, to deliver them up to Edom; but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces. I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Zechariah 9:5-7 Ashkelon will see it, and fear; Gaza also, and will writhe in agony; as will Ekron, for her expectation will be disappointed; and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. Foreigners will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; and he also will be a remnant for our God; and he will be as a chieftain in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain To wit, my people.
To wit, my people.
The Israelites, which were brought to most extreme misery.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 14:30 And the firstborn of the poor shall…
Isa 14:30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
Ver. 30. And the firstborn of the poor shall feed,] i.e., God’s poor people shall; who though never so poor - as they were at a very low ebb under Ahaz - were God’s "firstborn," and, in that respect, "higher than the kings of the earth." {Psa 89:27}
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And I will kill thy root.] See Zep 2:4. {See Trapp on "Zep 2:4"}
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 The first-born of the poor; the people of the…
The first-born of the poor; the people of the Jews, who are brought to extreme poverty by the cruelty and the malice of other enemies. The first-born were the chief of all the children. Hence the title of first-born is given to persons or things which are most eminent in their kinds, as to the people of Israel, Exo 4:22, to David, Psa 89:27, to a grievous death, Job 18:13, and here to persons eminently poor.
Shall feed; shall have plenty of provisions, in spite of all thine attempts against them.
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I will kill thy root; I will utterly destroy thee both root and branch, so that there shall not be a remnant of thy people reserved, as it follows. It is a metaphor from a tree, which for want of nourishment is dried up by the roots.
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 Howl, O gate,.... Or gates of the cities of…
Howl, O gate,.... Or gates of the cities of Palestine; the magistrates that sat there to execute judgment, or the people that passed through there; or because now obliged to open to their enemies; wherefore, instead of rejoicing, they are called to howling:
cry, O city; or cities, the several cities of the land, as well as their chief, because of the destruction coming upon them. The Targum is,
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"howl over thy gates, and cry over thy cities;''
or concerning them:
thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved; or "melted"; through fear of enemies coming upon them; or it may design the entire overthrow and dissolution of their state;
for there shall come from the north a smoke; a numerous army, raising a dust like smoke as they move along, and coming with great "swiftness", and very annoying. Some understand this of the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar coming from Babylon, which lay north of Judea; so Aben Ezra; to which agrees Jer 47:1 but most interpret it of Hezekiah's army, which came from Judea: which, Kimchi says, lay north to the land of the Philistines. Cocceius is of opinion that the Roman army is here meant, which came from the north against Judea, called whole Palestine; which country came into the hands of the Jews after the taking of Tyre and Gaza by the Greeks, and therefore the sanhedrim, which sat in the gate, and the city of Jerusalem, are called upon to howl and cry. But the first of these senses seems best, since the utter destruction of Palestine was by the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar; and so the prophecy from the time of Hezekiah, with which it begins, is carried on unto the entire dissolution of this country by the Babylonians.
And none shall be alone in his appointed times; when the times appointed are come, for the gathering, mustering, and marching of the army, whether Hezekiah's or the Chaldean, none shall stay at home; all will voluntarily and cheerfully flock unto it, and enlist themselves; nor will they separate or stray from it, but march on unanimously, and courageously engage the enemy, till the victory is obtained. Aben Ezra understands this of the Philistines, that they should not be able to abide alone in their palaces and houses, because of the smoke that should come in unto them.
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 poor - The people of the Jews, who…
The poor - The people of the Jews, who are brought to extreme poverty. The title of first-born is given to persons or things which are most eminent in their kinds, as to the people of Israel, Exod. iv, 22, to David, Psalm lxxxix, 27 Job xviii, 13, and here to persons eminently poor. Feed - Shall have plenty of provisions. Kill - I will utterly destroy thee both root and branch.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 30. And the first-born of the poor, c.]…
Verse 30. And the first-born of the poor, c.] The Targum goes on applying all to the Messiah. "And the poor of the people shall he feed, and the humble shall dwell securely in his days: and he shall kill thy children with famine, and the remnant of thy people shall he slay."
I will kill - "He will slay"] The Septuagint reads המית hemith, in the third person, ανελει and so the Chaldee. The Vulgate remedies the confusion of persons in the present text, by reading both the verbs in the first person.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 14:30. And the firstborn of the poor —…
Isa 14:30. And the firstborn of the poor — Those who are most remarkably poor; shall feed — Shall have plenty of provisions, in spite of all thy attempts against them. The same Hezekiah, who shall be such a scourge to thee, Palestina, shall be a mild and gracious governor to his own subjects; he shall take care of them as a shepherd does of his flock, and relieve those who were oppressed in his father’s time. It is probable, that the inhabitants of the southern parts of Judea, who were particularly exposed to the incursions of the Philistines, the Idumeans, and the Arabs, are chiefly meant here by the firstborn of the poor: and concerning these the prophet foretels, that under Hezekiah’s government they should have food and security for themselves and flocks. And I will kill thy root, &c. — When the root is killed, the plant or tree is wholly destroyed. The meaning therefore is, I will utterly destroy thee, both root and branch, so that there shall be no remnant of thy people reserved, as it follows. This utter extirpation of the Philistines, here threatened, was begun by Hezekiah, and was completed by famine and various calamities, which came upon them afterward.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And the first-born of the poor shall feed -…
And the first-born of the poor shall feed - That is, there shall be safety to those parts of Judah which have long been exposed to the invasions of the Philistines. Philistia bordered on Judea, and was constantly making wars upon it, so that there was no safety felt. Isaiah now says, that Hezekiah would so effectually and completely subdue them that there should be no danger from their invasion. The phrase ‘the first-born of the poor’ is an Hebraism, a strong, emphatic expression, denoting those who are the most poor; the most abject sons of poverty; those who have an eminence or a double portion of need, as the first-born among the Hebrews were entitled to special distinctions and privileges. The idea is, that even the most poor and defenseless would be safe.
Shall feed - That is, they shall be supplied with food; they shall feed safely as a flock does that is guarded from wild beasts. They shall be no longer alarmed, but shall dwell in security, peace, and plenty.
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And I will kill thy root - The word rendered ‘root’ denotes properly the root of a plant, which being dried up or killed, the plant of course withers and dies. So God says that he would effectually and entirely destroy the power of the Philistines.
Slay thy remnant - That is, shall slay all that pertains to thee. Or, he shall dry up the root, and the branches shall wither and die also. The whole power of the nation shall be withered and destroyed.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain first-born of . . . poor--Hebraism, for the most…
first-born of . . . poor--Hebraism, for the most abject poor; the first-born being the foremost of the family. Compare "first-born of death" (Job 18:13), for the most fatal death. The Jews, heretofore exposed to Philistine invasions and alarms, shall be in safety. Compare Psa 72:4, "Children of the needy," expressing those "needy in condition."
feed--image from a flock feeding in safety.
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root--radical destruction.
He shall slay--Jehovah shall. The change of person, "He" after "I," is a common Hebraism.
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 30. Firstborn of the poor — Or, sons of…
30. Firstborn of the poor — Or, sons of the poor,
God’s own — the lowly; here, his true people in Judah.
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Feed… lie down — The figures are from a flock of sheep — shall feed quietly, undisturbed by Philistine skirmishes.
Thy root — Compare Amo_2:9.
Slay thy remnant — Make a radical destruction of thee.
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 30. While Philistia is utterly destroyed, Israel enjoys perfect…
30. While Philistia is utterly destroyed, Israel enjoys perfect security under Jehovah’s protection (see Isa_14:32).
the firstborn of the poor] must be explained as a superlative—“the poorest of the poor.” But many commentators prefer, by slightly altering the word for “firstborn,” to read “in my meadow the poor shall feed” (cf. Isa_30:23).
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he shall slay] In spite of the change of person, the subject is still Jehovah, not the Assyrian. Or the verb might be equivalent to a passive, as in R.V. (“shall be slain”).
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 (30) And the firstborn of the poor shall feed.—As…
(30) And the firstborn of the poor shall feed.—As the “children of the needy” in Psa_72:4 are simply the poor as a class, so the “firstborn” are those who, as it were, inherit the double portion, not of riches, but of poverty. (Comp. “the firstborn of death” in Job_18:13.) The people spoken of are those of Judah, which in the days of Ahaz had been “brought very low” (2Ch_28:19). For these the prophet foretells a time of plenty; not so for Philistia. Either through the sieges of their towns or the devastation of their fields, they would be reduced to the last extremities of famine. With them there should be no “remnant” to return.
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 The firstborn of the poor shall feed. The "firstborn…
The firstborn of the poor shall feed. The "firstborn of the poor" are the very poor (Jarchi, Rosenm The refer-once is to the poor Israelites, who will "feed" and "lie down in safety" when Philistia is held in subjection. I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. God kills with famine, man with the sword. (see 2Sa_24:13, 2Sa_24:14) When the Philistines had resisted behind their strong walls till hunger had done its work by thinning their ranks, the Assyrian conqueror would storm their strongholds and slaughter "the remnant."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.