Bible Strands
Isaiah 33:19
You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Judah, contrasting the coming invasion with Zion's future security. This declaration follows a call to ponder the terror of the king who tallies, weighs, and counts the city's towers.
The words — The Hebrew נוֹעָז (no'az) translates literally to "barbarous" or "insolent," while עִמְקֵי שָׂפָה ('imkei safa) denotes "deep of lip" or unintelligible speech. These terms describe the foreign invaders whose language the people will no longer endure.
The thread — This motif of foreign tongues as divine judgment appears in Isaiah 28:11, Deuteronomy 28:49, and Jeremiah 5:15. Each passage links unintelligible speech to a distant nation brought by God against His people.
Why it lands — The text states that the invading force will be removed and Zion will stand as a permanent, unshakable dwelling. Readers must abandon reliance on human fortifications and accept God's sovereign protection as the only secure foundation.
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
Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 28:11 Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people
- Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Jeremiah 5:15 Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
- Exodus 14:13 But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
- 2 Kings 19:32 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
- Ezekiel 3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—
- 1 Corinthians 14:21 It is written in the Law: “By strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to Me, says the Lord.”