Isaiah 47:14

14 Look, they are like stubble; fire burns them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power^[a] of the flame. This is not a coal for warming themselves, or a fire to sit beside!

Isaiah 47:14 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 47:14

Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them,
&c.] That is, these astrologers and diviners shall be like stubble; weak as that, as the Targum; they shall be no more able to stand before the fire of divine wrath, or before the judgments of God, by the hands of the Medes and Persians, than stubble can stand before a consuming fire: they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame;
from those dreadful calamities that shall come upon them like flames of fire; and if they cannot deliver themselves by their art and skill, how should they deliver others? there shall not be a coal to warm, nor fire to sit before it;
stubble, when burnt, leaves no coals to warm a man with; and though it gives a blaze for a short time, while burning, it is quickly out, and gives no light nor heat for a man to sit by, so that there is little or no profit by it; which signifies that there were no hope, or help, or comfort, to be expected from those sorts of persons.

Isaiah 47:14 In-Context

12 So take your stand with your spells and your many sorceries, which you have wearied yourself with from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!

13 You are worn out with your many consultations. So let them stand and save you- the astrologers, who observe the stars, who predict monthly what will happen to you.

14 Look, they are like stubble; fire burns them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. This is not a coal for warming themselves, or a fire to sit beside!

15 This is what they are to you- those who have wearied you and have traded with you from your youth- each wanders on his own way; no one can save you.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit hand