Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one. Like a storm of hail, a destroying storm, and like a storm of mighty waters overflowing, he will cast them down to the earth with his hand.
Parallel Translations
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Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one. Like a storm of hail, a destroying storm, and like a storm of mighty waters overflowing, he will cast them down to the earth with his hand.
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Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
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Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, as a storm of mighty waters overflowing, that casteth down to the earth with violence.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Isaiah 28:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 30:30 Yahweh will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the descent of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, storm, and hailstones.
- Ezekiel 13:11 Tell those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be an overflowing shower; and you, great hailstones, will fall. A stormy wind will tear it.
- Nahum 1:8 But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
- Isaiah 27:1 In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
- Isaiah 29:6 She will be visited by Yahweh of Armies with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise, with whirlwind and storm, and with the flame of a devouring fire.
- Isaiah 8:7-8 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel.
- Isaiah 9:9-12 All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies, The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
- Isaiah 25:4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall.
- Isaiah 28:15-19 “Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and we are in agreement with Sheol. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it won’t come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves under falsehood.’ ” Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily. I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it. As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing but terror to understand the message.”
- Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
- Ezekiel 30:10-11 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
- Matthew 7:25-27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
- Revelation 18:8 Therefore in one day her plagues will come: death, mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for the Lord God who has judged her is strong.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He seemeth to mean the Assyrians, by whom the…
He seemeth to mean the Assyrians, by whom the ten tribes were carried away.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 28:2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and…
Isa 28:2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, [which] as a tempest of hail [and] a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
Ver. 2. Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and a strong one,] viz., Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. For whereas Ephraim might say, Who is there that can or dare pull off the flower of our goodly gallantry? God answereth that he hath at hand one that can do it, and do it with a turn of a hand, with little ado.
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 Lord hath, to wit, at his command, prepared…
The Lord hath, to wit, at his command, prepared and ready to execute his judgments,
a mighty and strong one; the king of Assyria.
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Shall cast down; understand it, the crown of pride; or them, the drunkards of Ephraim.
With the hand; or, by his hand; either by that king’s force or strong hand; or by the hand of God, which shall strengthen and succeed him in this work.
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 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one,....…
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one,.... That is, a powerful king, with a mighty army, meaning Shalmaneser king of Assyria; whom the Lord had at his beck and command, and could use at his pleasure, as his instrument, to bring down the towering pride of Ephraim, and chastise him for his sensuality:
which as a tempest of hail; that beats down herbs and plants, and branches of trees, and men and beasts:
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and a destroying storm; which carries all before it, blows down houses and trees, and makes terrible devastation wherever it comes:
as a flood of mighty waters overflowing; whose torrent is so strong there is no stopping it: so this mighty and powerful prince
shall cast down to the earth with the hand; the crown of pride, the people of Israel, and the king of it; he shall take the crown from his head, and cast it to the ground with a strong hand, as the Jews interpret it, with great violence; or very easily, with one hand, as it were, without any trouble at all. The Targum is,
"so shall people come against them, and remove them out of their own land into another land, because of the sins which were in their hands;''
see Isa 8:7.
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 A strong one - The king of Assyria. Shall…
A strong one - The king of Assyria. Shall cast down - The crown of pride. The hand - By the hand of God, which shall strengthen him in this work.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. Behold the Lord hath a mighty and…
Verse 2. Behold the Lord hath a mighty and strong one - "Behold the mighty one, the exceedingly strong one"] אמץ לאדני ammits ladonai, fortis Domino, i.e., fortissimmus, a Hebraism. For לאדני ladonai, to the Lord, thirty-eight MSS. Of Dr. Kennicott's and many of De Rossi's, with some of my own, and two editions, read ליהוה laihovah, to JEHOVAH.
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 28:2-4. Behold, the Lord hath — Namely, at…
Isa 28:2-4. Behold, the Lord hath — Namely, at his command, prepared and ready to execute his judgments; a mighty and strong one — Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria; which, as a tempest of hail, &c., shall cast down — The crown of pride, to the earth, by his hand — By the hand of God, which shall strengthen him in this work. The crown, the drunkards, shall be trodden under feet — The expression is emphatical; the crown which was upon their own heads shall be trodden under the feet of others; and they, whose drunkenness made them stagger and fall to the ground, shall be trodden down there. The glorious beauty shall be as the hasty fruit — That is, the first ripe fruit, which, coming before the season, and before other fruits, is most acceptable. Which he that seeth it eateth up — Which, as soon as a man sees, he plucks it off and devours it as soon as he can get it into his hand. And so shall it be with Ephraim’s glory, which his enemies shall covet and spoil, and devour greedily. “The image,” says Bishop Lowth, “expresses, in the strongest manner, the great ease with which the Assyrians should take the city and the whole kingdom, and the avidity with which they should seize the rich prey without resistance.”
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 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one…
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one - The Hebrew of this passage is, ‘Lo! there is to the Lord (לאדני la'donāy) mighty and strong.’ Lowth renders it,
‘Behold the mighty one, the exceedingly strong one,’
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And supposes that it means the Lord himself. It is evident, however, that something must be understood as being that which the Lord ‘hath,’ for the Hebrew properly implies that there is something strong and mighty which is under his control, and with which, as with a tempest, he will sweep away and destroy Ephraim. Jarchi supposes that רוח rûach (“wind”) is understood; Kimchi thinks that the word is יום yôm (“day”); others believe that חיל chayil (“an army”) is understood. But I think the obvious interpretation is to refer it to the Assyrian king, as the agent by which Yahweh would destroy Samaria 2Ki 17:3-6. This power was entirely under the direction of Yahweh, and would be employed by him in accomplishing his purpose on that guilty people (compare the notes at Isa 10:5-6).
As a tempest of hail - A storm of hail is a most striking representation of the desolation that is produced by the ravages of an invading army (compare Job 27:21; the note at Isa 30:30; also Hos 13:15).
A flood of mighty waters - This is also a striking description of the devastating effects of an invading army (compare Psa 90:5; Jer 46:7-8)
Shall cast down to the earth - To cast it to the earth means that it should be entirely humbled and destroyed (see the note at Isa 25:12).
With the hand - Septuagint: βίᾳ bia - ‘Force,’ ‘violence.’ This is its meaning here; as if it were taken in the hand, like a cup, and dashed indignantly to the ground.
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 The Lord. By his instrument, Salmanasar. (Haydock) --- Hebrew,…
The Lord. By his instrument, Salmanasar. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "behold the strong one, and the mighty to the Lord, as," &c. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "behold the Lord’s fury....as," &c. (Haydock)
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 strong one--the Assyrian (Isa 10:5).
strong one--the Assyrian (Isa 10:5).
cast down--namely, Ephraim (Isa 28:1) and Samaria, its crown.
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with . . . hand--with violence (Isa 8:11).
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 2. A mighty and strong one — An invading…
2. A mighty and strong one — An invading army, no doubt, is meant. Ravages which this should make on the country would surely have a fiercer description than that furnished in the picture given below.
Tempest of hail — At times furious in that land, and occasionally lasting two or three days.
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(This remark is from personal observation of the writer at Shechem, seven miles distant from Samaria, in the month of March, 1870.)
Cast… with the hand — The “hand” is the emblem of force, power, violence.
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 2. The reason for the woe of Isa_28:1. Render:…
2. The reason for the woe of Isa_28:1. Render: Behold Jehovah hath a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail, a destroying storm; like a flow of mighty overflowing waters, which casts down to the earth with violence.
a mighty and strong one] i.e. the Assyrian, Jehovah’s instrument (ch. Isa_10:5).
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a destroying storm] Delitzsch renders, less suitably perhaps, “a pestilential wind.” The word occurs again only in Deu_32:24; Psa_91:6; but a closely related one in Hos_13:14 (A.V. “destruction”). The image of the storm, here presented in three forms, recurs in Isa_28:15; Isa_28:18 f.
shall cast] Better, casts (perf. of experience, Davidson, Synt. § 40, e) The subj. is the storm of waters.
with the hand] i.e. with force.
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 (2) The Lord hath a mighty and strong one…
(2) The Lord hath a mighty and strong one . . .—The Hebrew may be either neuter, as in the LXX. and Targum, or masculine, as in the Authorised Version. In either case it refers to the King of Assyria as the instrument of Jehovah’s vengeance, the similitudes employed to describe his action reproducing those of Isa_8:7-8; Isa_25:4. Here the picture is that of the “destroying storm,” the pestilent or blasting tempest withering, and the flood sweeping away, the beautiful “garland” of Samaria.
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 Lord hath a mighty and strong one. God…
The Lord hath a mighty and strong one. God has in reserve a mighty power, which he will let loose upon Samaria. The wicked are "his sword", (Psa_17:13) and are employed to carry out his sentences. In the present ease the "mighty and strong one" is the Assyrian power. As a tempest of hail, etc. The fearfully devastating force of an Assyrian invasion is set forth under three distinct images a hailstorm, a furious tempest of wind, and a violent inundation as though so only could its full horror be depicted. War is always a horrible scourge; but in ancient times, and with a people so cruel as the Assyrians, it was a calamity exceeding in terribleness the utmost that the modern reader can conceive. It involved the wholesale burning of cities and villages, the wanton destruction of trees and crops, the slaughter of thousands in battles and sieges, the subsequent massacre of hundreds in cold blood, the plunder of all classes, and the deportation of tens of thousands of captives, who were carried into hopeless servitude in a strange land. With the hand; i.e. "with force," "violently." So in Assyrian constantly (compare the use of the Greek ceri ).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 28:2 the Lord will send: The covenant God will…
28:2 the Lord will send: The covenant God will act against his own people, whose behavior had effectively disqualified them as God’s people (see Hos 1:9). • The mighty army is that of the Assyrians, who destroyed Samaria in 722 BC.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.