and the remainder of the number of bowmen, the warriors of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken.”
Parallel translations
- WEB and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken it.”
- KJV And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.
- BSB The remaining archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
- NKJV and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”
- NLT Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the Lord, the God of Israel, have spoken!”
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
Kedar's renowned warriors will be reduced to a remnant, for the LORD has spoken. It matters because the certainty rests on God's own authoritative word.
Overview
The mighty archers of Kedar, once numerous, will be left only a few. The collapse of their military strength completes the picture of Arabia's humbling. The closing assurance, 'for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken it,' guarantees the outcome. The verse anchors the prophecy's certainty in the trustworthy character of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Zech 1:6But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as Yahweh of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.’”
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
- Isa 1:20but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- Isa 10:18–19He 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.
- Ps 107:39Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
- Jer 44:29“‘This shall be the sign to you,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil.’
- Isa 17:4–5“It will happen in that day that the glory of Jacob will be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
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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 21:17 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.