His rock will pass away by reason of terror, and his princes will be afraid of the banner,” says Yahweh, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
- BSB Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
- NKJV He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
- NASB “His rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the flag,” Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
- NLT Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,” says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.
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 stronghold will collapse in terror and its officers panic, says the LORD whose fire is in Zion. It matters because God's presence in Zion spells doom for His enemies.
Overview
The Assyrian 'rock,' or fortress, will fail and its princes flee in fear before God's banner. The LORD identifies His fire and furnace as being in Zion, the place of His presence and judgment. The verse affirms that God dwells with His people to defend them and consume their foes, a security finally secured in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Mal 4:1“For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up,” says Yahweh of Armies, “that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
- Isa 29:6She will be visited by Yahweh of Armies with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise, with whirlwind and storm, and with the flame of a devouring fire.
- Isa 4:4when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from within it, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning.
- Lev 6:13Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
- Deut 32:37He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge;
- Isa 10:17The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
- Zech 2:5For I,’ says Yahweh, ‘will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the middle of her.
- Isa 18:3All you inhabitants of the world, and you dwellers on the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, look! When the trumpet is blown, listen!
- Isa 30:33For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. Yahweh’s breath, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
- Isa 11:10It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
- Deut 32:31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves concede.
- Ezek 22:18–22“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are brass, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver.
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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 31:9 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.