Bible Strands
Isaiah 30:13
this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Holy One of Israel addresses Judah’s leadership for rejecting His warning and trusting in political alliances and deceit. He pronounces judgment at the moment their false security is about to be exposed.
The words — The Hebrew נִבְעֶה (niv'Eh) literally means "bulging," describing a wall swelling under pressure before it gives way. This pairs with כְּפֶרֶץ נֹפֵל (keFe.retz noFel), "like a breach about to fall," to emphasize imminent structural failure.
The thread — The collapsing wall motif appears in Isaiah 29:5, where foes vanish suddenly, and Ezekiel 13:10, where prophets are condemned for whitewashing a flimsy wall. Historical precedent echoes in 1 Kings 20:30, where a literal wall collapse kills twenty-seven thousand men.
Why it lands — The text states that iniquity will collapse suddenly like a failing wall, establishing that political maneuvering and deceit cannot sustain national survival. It requires readers to abandon false security and accept the inevitability of divine 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
Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 29:5 But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,
- Ezekiel 13:10 Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
- 1 Kings 20:30 The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
- Psalms 62:3 How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
- Proverbs 29:1 A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.
- Job 36:18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.
- Psalms 73:19 How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
- Matthew 7:27 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”
- Luke 6:49 But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”