Bible Strands
Isaiah 31:9
Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Judah concerning the collapse of Assyrian military power. The declaration is delivered within a prophetic oracle detailing how foreign forces will be dismantled without human intervention.
The words — וְסַלְעוֹ (ve-sal‘o) translates literally as "and its rock," denoting the enemy's perceived foundation of security. יַעֲבֹר (ya‘avor) means "it will pass away," describing the sudden dissolution of that strength under divine terror.
The thread — The declaration of Yahweh's fire in Zion and furnace in Jerusalem aligns with the unextinguished altar fire in Leviticus 6:13 and the consuming day in Malachi 4:1. The collapse of enemy defenses mirrors the LORD's manifestation with thunder and tempest in Isaiah 29:6.
Why it lands — The text states that human military strength and command structures will fail when confronted by divine presence. It requires the reader to accept that survival depends on the location of Yahweh's judgment, not on earthly alliances.
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 he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 29:6 you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.
- 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.”
- Leviticus 6:13 The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.
- Deuteronomy 32:37 He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
- Isaiah 4:4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- Isaiah 10:17 And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles.
- Isaiah 18:3 All you people of the world and dwellers of the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it; when a ram’s horn sounds, you will hear it.
- Zechariah 2:5 For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
- Isaiah 11:10 On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
- Isaiah 30:33 For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.