And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- BSB The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.
- NKJV And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away.
- NASB And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.
- NLT The Lord will consume Assyria’s glory like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land; it will waste away like sick people in a plague.
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
Assyria's vast army, pictured as a glorious forest, will be utterly consumed, soul and body. Its imposing might collapses like a fainting soldier.
Overview
The 'forest' and 'fruitful field' represent the empire's massive strength, which God will destroy completely — 'both soul and body.' The image of a standard-bearer fainting conveys total demoralization and collapse. No earthly power, however grand, can stand when the Lord himself moves against it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Kgs 19:23By thy messengers thou hast reproached the LORD, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.
- Isa 10:33–34Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
- 2 Kgs 19:28Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
- Isa 9:18For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
- Jer 21:14But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
- Ezek 20:47–48And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
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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 10:18 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.