All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
Parallel translations
- WEB All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest.
- BSB Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.
- NKJV All you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest.
- NASB ¶All you wild animals, All you animals in the forest, Come to eat.
- NLT Come, wild animals of the field! Come, wild animals of the forest! Come and devour my people!
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
God summons the beasts of field and forest to come and devour. It matters because it announces coming judgment on a people left vulnerable by failed leaders.
Overview
This abrupt call to wild animals to feed signals impending judgment, picturing Israel as exposed prey. It transitions from the welcome of outsiders to a rebuke of Israel's own corrupt watchmen. The verse warns that when leadership fails, God's flock is left defenseless against destruction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 12:9Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
- Deut 28:26And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
- Isa 18:6They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
- Ezek 39:17And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
- Rev 19:17–18And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
- Ezek 29:5And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
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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 56:9 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.