¶Behold, the name of the Lord comes from a remote place; His anger is burning and dense with smoke; His lips are filled with indignation, And His tongue is like a consuming fire;
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, Yahweh’s name comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke. His lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire.
- KJV Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
- BSB Behold, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.
- NKJV Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire.
- NLT Look! The Lord is coming from far away, burning with anger, surrounded by thick, rising smoke. His lips are filled with fury; his words consume like fire.
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 LORD's name comes from afar in burning anger, His lips full of fury and His tongue like devouring fire. It matters because it portrays God's powerful coming to judge.
Overview
Isaiah depicts the LORD advancing in fierce indignation, His very name a manifestation of His presence and wrath. The fiery imagery underscores the seriousness of divine judgment against the wicked, chiefly Assyria. This theophany reminds us of God's holiness and just anger, from which Christ alone provides refuge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 2 Th 2:8Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;
- Isa 33:12The peoples will be like the burning of lime, like thorns that are cut down and burned in the fire.
- Isa 10:5Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!
- Dan 7:9I saw until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat: his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
- Heb 12:29for our God is a consuming fire.
- Ps 79:5How long, Yahweh? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
- Isa 59:19So shall they fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which Yahweh’s breath drives.
- Isa 34:9Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, And its land will become burning pitch.
- Deut 33:2He said, “Yahweh came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them. He shone from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
- Isa 10:16–17Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire.
- Nah 1:5–6The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.
- Isa 66:14You will see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the tender grass. Yahweh’s hand will be known among his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
- Zeph 3:8“Therefore wait for me”, says Yahweh, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
- Ps 18:7–9Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
- Isa 9:5For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
- Lam 1:12–13“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look, and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which is brought on me, with which Yahweh has afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
- Deut 32:22For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.
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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 30:27 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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