Bible Strands
Isaiah 29:14
Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks to the people of Judah, pronouncing judgment immediately after condemning their hypocritical worship that honors Him with lips while hearts remain distant.
The words — יוֹסִף (yo.Sif) means "he will repeat" or "again," and הַפְלִיא (haf.Li') carries the sense of "to deal wonderfully" or "to confound," framing God's intervention as a deliberate, overwhelming reversal.
The thread — This declaration echoes in Habakkuk 1:5 regarding a surprising divine work, and is quoted directly in 1 Corinthians 1:19 to describe the frustration of human wisdom.
Why it lands — It demands readers abandon reliance on their own intellect or religious performance and recognize that God alone determines what is revealed and concealed.
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
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Cross-references
- Habakkuk 1:5 “Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.
- Jeremiah 49:7 Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
- John 9:39 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
- Job 5:13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
- Isaiah 6:9 And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Obadiah 1:8 In that day, declares the LORD, will I not destroy the wise men of Edom and the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
- Luke 10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
- John 9:29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”