My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.”
- NASB And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.”
- NLT I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs. No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The king likens his effortless plundering of nations to robbing an undefended bird's nest, boasting that none could resist.
Overview
He pictures gathering the wealth of nations as easily as collecting abandoned eggs, with no one daring to flutter a wing or open a mouth. This is the height of arrogance, claiming to have "gathered all the earth" by his own might. Such blasphemous self-glory sets the stage for God's response, exposing the folly of any tool that exalts itself above the hand that wields it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 31:25if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,
- Hos 12:7–8A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- Obad 1:4Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
- Isa 5:8Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.
- Jer 49:16The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
- Hab 2:5–11and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.
- Nah 2:9“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing.
- Prov 21:6–7Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- Prov 18:12Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 10:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.