Isaiah 9:20
What does Isaiah 9:20 mean?
A plain-English look at Isaiah 9:20 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Isaiah 9:20 means
This verse continues to describe the internal strife and desperate hunger that plague the devastated nation. People will snatch and devour things from both their right and left, symbolizing a frantic, indiscriminate struggle for survival and sustenance. Yet, despite their grasping efforts, they remain perpetually "hungry" and "shall not be satisfied." The horrifying culmination is that "every man [shall] eat the flesh of his own arm," a grotesque metaphor for self-destructive behavior and internal cannibalism, highlighting the complete breakdown of society and the utter desperation born of God's relentless judgment.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And one shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
KJV
King James Version · 1611And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And one shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949On the right a man was cutting off bits and was still in need; on the left a man took a meal but had not enough; no man had pity on his brother; every man was making a meal of the flesh of his neighbour.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And cutteth down on the right, and hath been hungry, And he devoureth on the left, And they have not been satisfied, Each the flesh of his own arm they devour.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And he shall turn to the right hand, and shall be hungry: and shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be filled: every one shall eat the flesh of his own arm: Manasses Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses, and they together shall be against Juda.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890and he snatcheth on the right hand, and is hungry, and eateth on the left hand; and they are not satisfied. They eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
Context
Following the description of the land being consumed by wrath and brothers not sparing each other, this verse illustrates the extreme internal strife and unending hunger that characterizes the judgment. It vividly details the breakdown of societal order and the desperation of the people. This context is essential because it elaborates on the grim consequences of divine judgment, setting the stage for the ultimate internal conflict within the tribes before the concluding refrain of God's persistent anger.
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.
v.20This passage
v.21Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 19:9
And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their life, shall distress them.
- Isaiah 8:21
And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:
- Isaiah 49:26
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Leviticus 26:26
When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
- Lamentations 4:10
The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
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