The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, “Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies; and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored;
- KJV The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
- NKJV The Lord has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored.
- NASB The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies, Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
- NLT The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: “I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine.
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 swears by His own strength that enemies will no longer plunder His people's harvest. It matters because God personally guarantees the security of His restored people.
Overview
The oath 'by his right hand' underscores the absolute certainty of the promise. The curse of having one's labor consumed by enemies (Deuteronomy 28:30-33) is now reversed as a sign of covenant blessing. It anticipates the secure inheritance God grants His people, who will fully enjoy the fruit of His salvation in the age to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 65:21–23They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
- Judg 6:3–6Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
- Deut 28:33A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
- Deut 28:31Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will save you.
- Ezek 20:5and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. With an uplifted hand I said to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.’
- Deut 32:40For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,
- Jer 5:17They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”
- Isa 1:7Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.
- Lev 26:16then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.
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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 62:8 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.