I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
- BSB I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.
- NKJV I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
- NASB I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir.
- NLT I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.
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
People will become rarer than fine gold as judgment depletes the land. The slaughter will be devastating.
Overview
So many will perish that surviving people become more scarce than 'the pure gold of Ophir.' The hyperbole conveys the extent of the coming devastation. It underscores the seriousness of standing under God's wrath without refuge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 4:1And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
- Isa 24:6Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
- Ps 137:9Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
- Job 28:16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
- Isa 13:15–18Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
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 13:12 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.