Isaiah 47:14

14 "Behold, they have become ¹like stubble, ²Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be ³no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before!

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 "Stand fast now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you may cause trembling.

13 "You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers , Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

14 "Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before!

15 "So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Who have trafficked with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own way; There is none to save you.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 5:24; Nahum 1:10; Malachi 4:1
• 2. Isaiah 10:17; Jer 51:30, 32, 58
• 3. Isaiah 44:16