Bible Strands
Isaiah 57:13
When you cry out, let your companies of idols deliver you! Yet the wind will carry off all of them, a breath will take them away. But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses rebellious Israel, contrasting their futile cries to idols with His offer of refuge. The moment follows His declaration that their self-made righteousness and works will profit them nothing.
The words — קִבּוּצַיִךְ (ki.bu.Tza.yi/kh) literally means “your gatherings” or “companies,” referring to the assembled idols. ר֖וּחַ (Ru.ach) denotes “wind” or “breath,” emphasizing the insubstantial, vanishing nature of their false gods.
The thread — The promise of inheriting the land and possessing the holy mountain echoes Psalm 37:9 and Psalm 37:3, while the imagery of God bringing His people to His holy mountain recalls Isaiah 56:7. The warning that idols will be carried off by the wind stands in direct contrast to the enduring inheritance granted to those who hope in the LORD.
Why it lands — The text demands a clear choice between crying out to powerless gatherings and seeking refuge in God. It asks the reader to abandon self-reliance and idolatry, recognizing that only trust in the LORD yields an lasting inheritance.
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
When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:9 For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
- Psalms 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Isaiah 56:7 I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”
- Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
- Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
- Psalms 125:1 A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
- Isaiah 11:9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
- Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and heirs from Judah; My elect will possess My mountains, and My servants will dwell there.
- Isaiah 66:20 And they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots and wagons, on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.”
- Ezekiel 20:40 For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.