Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.
Parallel translations
- KJV Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
- BSB Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
- NKJV Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.”
- NASB “Wail, you gate; cry, you city; Melt away, Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks.
- NLT Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities! Melt with fear, you Philistines! A powerful army comes like smoke from the north. Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.
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
Philistia is told to howl and cry as an army advances from the north to dissolve them. Their cities face certain, disciplined destruction.
Overview
Isaiah summons Philistia to mourn as an unstoppable invading force, marked by orderly ranks, comes against them. The 'smoke from the north' signals the approach of the conqueror. The passage shows that no fortified city can stand when God appoints judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 20:1In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;
- Jer 1:14Then Yahweh said to me, “Out of the north, evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.
- Jer 25:16–20They shall drink, and reel back and forth, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.”
- Isa 13:6Wail; for the day of Yahweh is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Isa 14:29Don’t rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent’s root an adder will emerge, and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent.
- Isa 16:7Therefore Moab will wail for Moab. Everyone will wail. You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth, utterly stricken.
- Isa 24:12The city is left in desolation, and the gate is struck with destruction.
- Isa 3:26Her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
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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 14:31 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
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