though hail flattens the forest, and the city is leveled completely.
Parallel Translations
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though hail flattens the forest, and the city is leveled completely.
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When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
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And it shall hail, in the downfall of the forest; but the city shall descend into the valley.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Isaiah 32:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 28:17 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.
- Isaiah 26:5 For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city. He lays it low. He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust.
- Isaiah 28:2 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.
- 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.
- Zechariah 11:2 Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen, because the stately ones are destroyed. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has come down.
- Exodus 9:18-26 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now. Now therefore command that all of your livestock and all that you have in the field be brought into shelter. The hail will come down on every man and animal that is found in the field, and isn’t brought home, and they will die.” ’ ” Those who feared Yahweh’s word among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their livestock flee into the houses. Whoever didn’t respect Yahweh’s word left his servants and his livestock in the field. Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on animal, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder and hail; and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and animal; and the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
- Isaiah 10:19 The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.
- Isaiah 14:22-23 “I will rise up against them,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son’s son,” says Yahweh. “I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Isaiah 24:10 The confused city is broken down. Every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
- 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 27:10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches.
- Isaiah 37:24 By your servants, 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. I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field.
- Ezekiel 13:11-13 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. Behold, when the wall has fallen, won’t it be said to you, “Where is the plaster with which you have plastered it?” “ ‘Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “I will even tear it with a stormy wind in my wrath. There will be an overflowing shower in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to consume it.
- Nahum 1:1 A revelation about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
- Nahum 1:8 But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
- Nahum 2:10-13 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.”
- Matthew 7:25 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.
- Revelation 8:7 The first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. One third of the earth was burned up, and one third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
- Revelation 18:21 A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain They shall not need to build it in high…
They shall not need to build it in high places for fear of the enemy: for God will defend it, and turn away the storms from hurting of their commodities.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 32:19 When it shall hail, coming down on…
Isa 32:19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
Ver. 19. When it shall hail, coming down on the forest.] When reprobates - here compared to a forest or tall wood - shall be hail beaten, that is, grievously plagued, as those Egyptians once were, {Exo 9:22; Exo 9:26} it shall be hale, or well, with the elect. The Church, as a city that standeth in a low bottom, is secure and safe, her afflictions also working together for her good. In humbling her, God remembereth her, for his mercy endureth for ever. {Psa 136:23}
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 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest,…
When it shall hail, coming down on the forest, Heb. And it shall hail, &c. As my blessings shall be poured down upon my people, who from a wilderness are turned into a fruitful field, as it is said, Isa 32:15; so my wrath and judgments (which are signified by hail, Isa 28:2,17, and elsewhere) shall fall upon them, who were a fruitful field, but are turned into a forest, as was said, Isa 32:15, i.e. upon the unbelieving and rebellious Jews, who seem there to be designed under that notion.
The city; either,
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1. Babylon, the great enemy and oppressor of God’s people. Or,
2. Jerusalem, which, though now it was the seat of God’s worship and people, yet he foresaw by the Spirit of prophecy that it would be the great enemy of the Messiah, and of God’s people.
Shall be low in a low place, Heb. shall be humbled with humiliation; which by an ordinary Hebraism signifies, shall be greatly humbled, or brought very low.
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 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest,....…
When it shall hail, coming down on the forest,.... The people of God will be peaceable and quiet, safe and secure, when the judgments of God, signified by a "hail" storm, shall come upon antichrist, and the antichristian states, intended by the "forest", both for their numbers, and for their barrenness and unfruitfulness; see Rev 16:21 and as so it sometimes is, by the disposition of divine Providence, that a storm of hail falls not upon fields and gardens, and the fruits of the earth, but upon forests and desert lands; and as the plague of hail fell upon the Egyptians, and not upon the Israelites in Goshen, to which some think the allusion is here; so will it be when God comes to take vengeance on the enemies of his people:
and the city shall be low in a low place: meaning not the city of Jerusalem, surrounded with mountains, built under hills, and so under the wind, and not exposed to the fury of a storm; but rather Babylon, built in a plain, in a low plain, and yet should be brought lower still; mystical Babylon is here meant, the city of Rome, that should "in humiliation be humbled", as the words may be rendered, that is, brought very low, exceeding low; see Isa 26:5 and which, at the time of the great hail, will be divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations shall fall, and Babylon be had in remembrance by the Lord to destroy it, Rev 16:19.
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 It shall hail - As my blessings shall be…
It shall hail - As my blessings shall be poured down upon my people, who, from a wilderness, are turned into a fruitful field, so my judgments (which are signified by hail, chap. xxviii, 2, 17, and elsewhere) shall fall upon them, who were a fruitful field, but are turned into a forest, upon the unbelieving and rebellious Jews. The city - Jerusalem, which, though now it was the seat of God's worship and people, yet he foresaw, would be the great enemy of the Messiah. Low - Hebrew. shall be humbled with humiliation: shall be greatly humbled, or brought very low.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. The city shall be low in a…
Verse 19. The city shall be low in a low place. - "The city shall be laid level with the plain."] For ובשפלה ubashephelah, the Syriac reads וכשפלה ukeshephelah. The city - probably Nineveh or Babylon: but this verse is very obscure. Saltus; Assyriorum regnum: civitas; magnifica Assyriorum castra. Ephrem Syr. in loc. For וברד ubarad, a MS. has וירד vaiyered; and so conjectured Abp. Secker, referring to Zec 11:2.
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 32:19. When — Or, rather, And it shall…
Isa 32:19. When — Or, rather, And it shall hail — As my blessings shall be poured down upon my people, who, from a wilderness, are turned into a fruitful field, so my judgments (which are signified by hail, Isa 28:2; Isa 28:17, and elsewhere) shall fall upon them who were a fruitful field, but are turned into a forest, as was said Isa 32:15; that is, upon the unbelieving and rebellious Jews. And the city — Jerusalem, which, though now it was the seat of God’s worship and people, yet he foresaw would be the great enemy of the Messiah; shall be low in a low place — Hebrew, תשׁפל בשׁפלה, shall be humbled with humiliation; that is, shall be greatly humbled, or brought very low.
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 When it shall hail - Hebrew, ברדת ברד bârad…
When it shall hail - Hebrew, ברדת ברד bârad beredeth - ‘And it shall hail in coming down. There is a paranomasia in the original here, which cannot be expressed in a translation - a figure of speech, which, as we have seen, is common in Isaiah. ‘Hail’ is an image of divine vengeance or punishment; and the reference here is, doubtless, to the storms of indignation that would come on the enemies of the Jews, particularly on the Assyrians (see the notes at Isa 30:30).
Coming down on the forest - Coming down on the army of the Assyrian, which is here called ‘a forest.’ The same term ‘forest’ is given to the army of the Assyrians in Isa 10:18-19, Isa 10:33-34. The sense is, that the divine judgment would come down on that army with as much severity as a storm of hail descends on a forest - stripping the leaves from the trees, destroying its beauty, and laying it waste.
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And the city - According to Gesenius, this is Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. According to Rosenmuller, Grotius, and others, it is Babylon. Hensler supposes that it is Jerusalem, and that the sense is, that as a city that is situated in a valley is safe when the storm and tempest sweep over the hills, so would it be to Jerusalem when the storm of wrath should sweep away the army of the Assyrian. But the connection evidently requires us to understand it of the capital of the enemy; though whether it be Nineveh or Babylon perhaps cannot be determined.
Shall be low in a low place - Margin, ‘Utterly abased.’ Hebrew, ‘In humility shall be humbled.’ The sense is, shall be completely prostrate. Those who refer this to Jerusalem suppose it refers to the time when God should humble it by bringing the enemy so near, and exciting so much consternation and alarm. Those who refer it to Babylon suppose it relates to its destruction. If referred to Nineveh, it must mean when the pride of the capital of the Assyrian empire should be iratabled by the complete overthrow of their army, and the annihilation of their hopes. The connection seems to require us to adopt this latter interpretation. The whole verse is very obscure; but perhaps the above will express its general sense.
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 Hail. God’s judgment shall overtake Babylon, or rather Ninive.
Hail. God’s judgment shall overtake Babylon, or rather Ninive.
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 Literally, "But it shall hail with coming down of…
Literally, "But it shall hail with coming down of the forest, and in lowness shall the city (Nineveh) be brought low; that is, humbled." The "hail" is Jehovah's wrathful visitation (Isa 30:30; Isa 28:2, Isa 28:17). The "forest" is the Assyrian host, dense as the trees of a forest (Isa 10:18-19, Isa 10:33-34; Zac 11:2).
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 19. It shall hail, coming down on the forest…
19. It shall hail, coming down on the forest — That is, the fierce storm shall overthrow it. Hail storms in Palestine are fearful agencies of destruction. Note the scenes under Joshua at Beth-horon, and at Megiddo under Barak. Jos_10:11; Jdg_5:20. And the city, etc. — If this verse is in its right place, it is another case of a sudden mental association, in the mind of the prophet, with the destroying power, Assyria. Assyria is to destroy Judah as an event ordered to precede this beginning of spiritual renovation of redeemed Israel. “The forest,” then, denotes the degenerated children of Judah, and “the city,” is destroyed Jerusalem. In the same mental association, Assyria, as a destroying power, covers the seat of that power throughout the Euphrates valley; it ideally includes the same power transferred to Babylon. The verse would seem to be a parenthetic interruption to the course of thought in this place.
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 19. The verse reads: And it shall hail at…
19. The verse reads: And it shall hail at the falling of the forest, and in lowliness shall the city be laid low. According to most commentators the “forest” is a symbol for Assyria, as in ch. Isa_10:18 f., 33 f. But this is suggested by nothing in the context, and the “city” in the next line cannot be Nineveh, which is never referred to by Isaiah, and is far from his thoughts here. The verse as a whole must (if genuine) be taken as an announcement of judgment on Jerusalem; but it comes in so awkwardly between Isa_32:18; Isa_32:20, that it may not unreasonably be regarded as an interpolation. On the “hail” as a synonym for Divine judgment see ch. Isa_28:2; Isa_28:17, Isa_30:30.
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 (19) When it shall hail, coming down on the…
(19) When it shall hail, coming down on the forest.—Better, But it shall hail. A time of sharp judgment, “hailstones and coals of fire,” is to precede that of blessedness and peace. Of such a judgment “hail” was the natural symbol. (Comp. Isa_30:30; Eze_13:13.) The “forest” stands in the symbolism of prophecy for the rulers and princes of any kingdom, as in Isa_10:34 for those of Assyria, and here probably of Judah. Not a few commentators refer the words here also to Assyria, but the city that follows is clearly Jerusalem, and the interpretation given above harmonises accordingly better with the context. Of that city Isaiah says that it shall be “brought down to a low estate,” its pride humbled even to the ground, in order that it may afterwards be exalted.
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 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest;…
When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; rather, but it shall hail in the coming down (i.e. the destruction) of the forest. "The forest" has commonly been regarded as Assyria, on the strength of Isa_10:18, Isa_10:19, Isa_10:33, Isa_10:34. Mr. Cheyne, however, suggests Judah, or the high and haughty ones of Judah, whose destruction was a necessary preliminary to the establishment of Christ"s kingdom. May not God"s enemies generally be meant? The city. Nineveh (Lowth, Gesenius, Rosenm Jerusalem (Delitzsch, Knobel, Cheyne, Kay); "the city in which the hostility of the world to Jehovah will, in the latter days, be centralized" (Drechsler, Nagel) the "world-power," in fact. The last view seems to give the best sense.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 See how you translated this in Isaiah 28:2.
hails
See how you translated this in Isaiah 28:2.
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the forest is destroyed, and the city is completely annihilated
This can be stated in active form. AT: "it destroys the forest and completely destroys the city" (See: Active or Passive)
you who sow beside all the streams will be blessed, you who send out your ox and donkey to graze
This can be stated in active form. This refers to Yahweh blessing all of his people and speaks of the things that are normal for his people to do. AT: "Yahweh will bless you, as you plant your crops in fields alongside the streams and as you send out your ox and donkey to graze in the pasture" (See: Active or Passive and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
plant
bless
cow
donkey
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 32:19 the forest . . . the city: The…
32:19 the forest . . . the city: The godly would remain secure even with evidence of God’s judgment all around them.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.