Isaiah 9:18
What does Isaiah 9:18 mean?
A plain-English look at Isaiah 9:18 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Isaiah 9:18 means
This verse uses the vivid imagery of fire to describe how wickedness relentlessly consumes the nation. Just as fire devours dry "briers and thorns" and then spreads destructively into "thickets of the forest," Israel's widespread sin has an insatiable, self-propagating quality. It burns from within, causing increasing devastation and ruin. The rising "column of smoke" symbolizes the inevitable outcome of such wickedness: a visible manifestation of divine wrath and destruction. This internal corruption fuels the judgment that continues to afflict the land.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For wickedness burneth as the fire; it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
KJV
King James Version · 1611For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For wickedness burneth as the fire; it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949For evil was burning like a fire; the blackberries and thorns were burned up; the thick woods took fire, rolling up in dark clouds of smoke.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862For burned as a fire hath wickedness, Brier and thorn it devoureth, And it kindleth in thickets of the forest, And they lift themselves up, an exaltation of smoke!
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest, and it shall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890For wickedness burneth as a fire: it devoureth briars and thorns, and kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they go rolling up like a pillar of smoke.
Context
Following the summary of Israel's pervasive wickedness and God's continued anger, this verse introduces the metaphor of fire to describe how sin internally consumes the nation. It illustrates the destructive power of their iniquity. This context is vital because it explains the mechanism of God's judgment—wickedness itself is a consuming fire—leading to the description of the land being burned up by the Lord's wrath.
v.17Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
v.18This passage
v.19Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land burnt up; and the people are as the fuel of fire: no man spareth his brother.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Amos 7:4
Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land.
- Job 31:11
For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
- Ezekiel 20:47
and say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby.
- Isaiah 27:4
Wrath is not in me: would that the briers and thorns were against me in battle! I would march upon them, I would burn them together.
- Nahum 1:6
Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him.
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