Limitless Word
Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us.”
Isaiah 8:10 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
  • BSB Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”
  • NKJV Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”
  • NASB “Devise a plan, but it will fail; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”
  • NLT Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us!”

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

Every plan against God's people will fail, because "God is with us" (Immanuel).

Overview

Schemes and decrees aimed at God's people will come to nothing, for the Lord himself stands with them. The closing phrase "God is with us" echoes the name Immanuel, grounding security not in armies but in God's presence. This is the gospel hope: with God on our side through Christ, no opposition can finally succeed (cf. Romans 8:31).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Lam 3:37Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
  • Rom 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  • Job 5:12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise.
  • Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
  • Ps 46:11Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
  • 2 Sam 15:31Someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”
  • Isa 7:5–7Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying,
  • Ps 33:10–11Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
  • Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
  • Ps 46:7Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
  • 2 Chr 13:12Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don’t fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you will not prosper.”
  • Deut 20:1When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
  • 2 Sam 17:23When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, arose, and went home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.
  • Ps 46:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
  • Josh 1:5No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
  • Rom 8:13For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
  • Ps 83:3–18They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones.
  • 1 Jn 4:4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
  • Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
  • Matt 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
  • 2 Chr 33:7–8He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever.
  • Acts 5:38–39Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown.
  • Isa 9:6For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  • Ps 2:1–2Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
  • Nah 1:9–12What do you plot against Yahweh? He will make a full end. Affliction won’t rise up the second time.
  • Matt 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
  • Isa 8:8It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel.
  • 2 Sam 17:4The saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 8:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 8:10 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.