Bible Strands
Isaiah 1:31
The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the covenant people of Israel during a prophetic warning, immediately following the declaration of their spiritual desiccation in verse 30.
The words — חָסֹן (cha.Son) denotes the strong [person], while נְעֹרֶת (n.'O.ret) literally means tow or dry tinder.
The thread — This motif of consuming judgment appears in Isaiah 66:24 and Malachi 4:1, where rebellion meets irreversible destruction.
Why it lands — The text states that human strength and its achievements will be entirely consumed by divine fire, leaving no human agent to stop it. This demands the reader abandon reliance on self-sufficiency and recognize the finality of covenant judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 66:24 “As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”
- Ezekiel 32:21 Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’
- Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Judges 15:14 When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
- Isaiah 5:24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.
- Isaiah 26:11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
- Isaiah 27:4 I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground.
- Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
- Isaiah 34:9 Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.