Isaiah 5:27

None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Isaiah delivers this description to Judah while detailing God’s summons of foreign armies via a raised banner and whistle. The verse falls between passages that depict the rapid mobilization and formidable weaponry of these invading forces.

The words — The Hebrew אֵין־ ('ein-) and כּוֹשֵׁל (ko.Shel) literally mean "there not" and "stumbles," directly asserting that the advancing troops experience zero fatigue or physical failure. These terms establish the unbroken combat readiness of the soldiers.

The thread — The depiction of relentless, unswerving marchers aligns with the disciplined charge described in Joel 2:7. The broader theme of God controlling military readiness also appears in Job 12:18 and Job 12:21, where He loosens royal bonds and disarms the powerful.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept that summoned armies operate with terrifying efficiency beyond natural limits. It demands acknowledgment that human strength and endurance are entirely subject to divine deployment.

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

אֵין־'ein-there not עָיֵ֤ף'a.Yef[is] a weary [one]וְאֵין־ve./'ein-and/ there not כּוֹשֵׁל֙ko.Shel[is one who] stumblesבּ֔וֹb/oamong/ itלֹ֥אlo'not יָנ֖וּםya.Numanyone will slumber וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not יִישָׁ֑ןyi.Shananyone will sleep וְלֹ֤אve./Lo'and/ not נִפְתַּח֙nif.Tachit has been opened אֵז֣וֹר'e.Zor[the] waistband of חֲלָצָ֔יוcha.la.Tza/vloins/ its וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not נִתַּ֖קni.Takit has been torn apart שְׂר֥וֹךְse.Rokha thong of נְעָלָֽיו׃ne.'a.La/vsandals/ its

King James Version

None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

Cross-references

Job 12:18 He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.
Joel 2:7 They charge like mighty men; they scale the walls like men of war. Each one marches in formation, not swerving from the course.
Job 12:21 He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
Deuteronomy 32:25 Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.
1 Kings 2:5 Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
Psalms 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
Psalms 93:1 The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Isaiah 11:5 Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
Isaiah 45:1 This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:
Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,