Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, they may gather together, but not by me. Whoever gathers together against you will fall because of you.
- BSB If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me; whoever assails you will fall before you.
- NKJV Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
- NASB “If anyone fiercely attacks you, it will not be from Me. Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
- NLT If any nation comes to fight you, it is not because I sent them. Whoever attacks you will go down in defeat.
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
Any who gather to attack God's people do so without His sanction and will fall. It matters because no opposition raised against the redeemed can ultimately succeed.
Overview
God distinguishes between assaults He has not authorized and their certain failure: attackers will fall, not His people. This assures the redeemed that hostility against them is doomed because God stands as their defender. It foreshadows the church's security against all foes, for if God is for us, none can prevail against us (Rom. 8:31).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 41:11–16Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
- Ps 37:12–13The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
- Zech 12:9And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- Zech 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
- Isa 43:3–4For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
- Zech 14:2–3For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
- Rev 20:8–9And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
- Isa 43:14Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
- Zech 12:3And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
- Ezek 38:8–23After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
- Rev 16:14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
- Joel 3:9–14Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
- Rev 19:19–21And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 54:15 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.