Isaiah 8:9

9 Band together, peoples, and be broken; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for war, and be broken; prepare for war, and be broken.

Isaiah 8:9 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 8:9

Associate yourselves, O ye people
Both of Syria and Israel, whose two kings were confederate against Judah: and ye shall be broken in pieces;
as the kingdom of Syria was by Tilgathpilneser quickly after this, ( 2 Kings 16:9 ) and the kingdom of Ephraim or Israel by Shalmaneser, ( 2 Kings 17:6 ) ( Isaiah 8:8 ) : and give ear, all ye of far countries;
the Assyrians, and the nations that belonged to them, who were more remote from Judea: gird yourselves;
for a long and tedious march, and for war; it may signify the putting on of their whole armour; for, as Pausanius ^F19 says, the ancients used to call putting on of armour, girding: and ye shall be broken in pieces:
as the Assyrian army was, which came up against Jerusalem in Hezekiah's time, ( 2 Kings 19:35 ) : gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces;
this is repeated for confirmation sake, to denote the certainty of it.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F19 Boeotica sive, l. 9. p. 567.

Isaiah 8:9 In-Context

7 the Lord will certainly bring against them the mighty rushing waters of the Euphrates River- the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will overflow its channels and spill over all its banks.

8 It will pour into Judah, flood over it, and sweep through, reaching up to the neck; and its spreading streams will fill your entire land, Immanuel!

9 Band together, peoples, and be broken; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for war, and be broken; prepare for war, and be broken.

10 Devise a plan; it will fail. Make a prediction; it will not happen. For God is with us.

11 For this is what the Lord said to me with great power, to keep me from going the way of this people: