The Meaning of Isaiah 31:9 Explained

Isaiah 31:9

KJV: 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.

YLT: And to his rock from fear he passeth on, And affrighted by the ensign have been his princes -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Who hath a light in Zion, And who hath a furnace in Jerusalem!

Darby: and for fear, he shall pass over to his rock, and his princes shall be afraid of the banner, saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

ASV: And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 31:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The rock of Assyria, her king (cf. Isaiah 30:29), would panic, and her princes would tremble at the evidence of divine intervention. The Assyrians would face a fire in Jerusalem that they could not endure. The Lord"s judgment on Sennacherib"s army at Jerusalem in701 B.C. was the beginning of the demise of the Assyrian Empire.
"A friend of mine kept a card in his office desk that read: Faith Is Living Without Scheming. In one statement, that is what Isaiah was saying to Judah and Jerusalem, and that is what he is saying to us today." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 31:1-9 - A Nobler Future For The Nation
Isaiah continues to denounce the contemplated alliance with Egypt. His compatriots put their trust in horses and chariots, and refused the help of their fathers' God. Yet was He not so wise as the Egyptians, and equally as strong! And were they not running a fearful risk in rejecting One who would not recall His words of threatened punishment to those who refused His help? At best, the Egyptians were men, and not God, and their cavalry, flesh. If only they would trust Him, God would defy their foes, as a lion defies a company of unarmed shepherds, Isaiah 31:4. The mother-bird hovers over her brood to protect it from the kestrel; so would He spread His covering wing over Jerusalem, Isaiah 31:5. We may have deeply revolted, yet we may turn back to God with the certainty that He will receive and rescue us, Isaiah 31:6.
Sennacherib fell by the sword of his sons. Compare Isaiah 32:8 with 2 Kings 19:36-37. How different is our glorious King, whose many-sided nature meets all our needs! Isaiah 32:2. Before Him all men are unveiled in their true characters. Only those who are royal in heart shall stand before Him, Isaiah 31:8. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 31

1  The prophet shows the folly and danger of trusting Egypt, and forsaking God
6  He exhorts to conversion
8  He shows the fall of Assyria

What do the individual words in Isaiah 31:9 mean?

And to his stronghold for fear He shall cross over and shall be afraid of the banner his princes says Yahweh Whose fire [is] to in Zion and furnace [is] whose in Jerusalem -
וְסַלְעוֹ֙ מִמָּג֣וֹר יַֽעֲב֔וֹר וְחַתּ֥וּ מִנֵּ֖ס שָׂרָ֑יו נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר־ א֥וּר לוֹ֙ בְּצִיּ֔וֹן וְתַנּ֥וּר ל֖וֹ בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם ס

וְסַלְעוֹ֙  And  to  his  stronghold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: סֶלַע  
Sense: crag, cliff, rock.
מִמָּג֣וֹר  for  fear 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָגֹור  
Sense: fear, terror.
יַֽעֲב֔וֹר  He  shall  cross  over 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
וְחַתּ֥וּ  and  shall  be  afraid 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָתַת  
Sense: to be shattered, be dismayed, be broken, be abolished, be afraid.
מִנֵּ֖ס  of  the  banner 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֵס  
Sense: something lifted up, standard, signal, signal pole, ensign, banner, sign, sail.
שָׂרָ֑יו  his  princes 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
אֲשֶׁר־  Whose 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
א֥וּר  fire  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אוּר  
Sense: flame, light of fire.
בְּצִיּ֔וֹן  in  Zion 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
וְתַנּ֥וּר  and  furnace  [is] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular
Root: תַּנּוּר  
Sense: furnace, oven, fire-pot, (portable) stove.
ל֖וֹ  whose 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם  in  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation