and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers—even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry.
Parallel translations
- WEB Thorns and briers will come up on my people’s land; yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
- KJV Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
- NKJV On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;
- NASB For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up; Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
- NLT For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.
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
Thorns and briers will overrun the land, even the once-joyous houses and city. It matters because sin's judgment turns flourishing places into wasteland.
Overview
The prophet foresees the land overgrown with thorns, the former places of joy reduced to ruin. The reversal of fruitfulness into desolation depicts the consequence of judgment. Such imagery recalls the curse on creation and heightens longing for the restoration only God can bring.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 22:2O city of commotion, O town of revelry? Your slain did not die by the sword, nor were they killed in battle.
- Hos 9:6For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.
- Isa 7:23And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found.
- Isa 34:13Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.
- Isa 22:12–13On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- Isa 5:6I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
- Jer 39:8The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
- Ps 107:34and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
- Isa 6:11Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
- Rev 18:7–8As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’
- Hos 10:8The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
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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 32:13 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.