The Meaning of Isaiah 40:24 Explained

Isaiah 40:24

KJV: Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

YLT: Yea, they have not been planted, Yea, they have not been sown, Yea, not taking root in the earth is their stock, And also He hath blown upon them, and they wither, And a whirlwind as stubble taketh them away.

Darby: Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.

ASV: Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yea, they shall not be planted;  yea, they shall not be sown:  yea, their stock  shall not take root  in the earth:  and he shall also blow  upon them, and they shall wither,  and the whirlwind  shall take  them away as stubble. 

What does Isaiah 40:24 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 40:18-31 - The Everlasting God The Giver Of Strength
Day changes to night, and as the twilight deepens, the stars come out in their myriads, Isaiah 40:26. To the poetic eye of the watcher, they appear as a vast flock following the shepherd, who calls each by its name. Not one falls out of its place, or is lacking. Will Jehovah do so much for stars and nought for men? Will He not have a name for each? Will He not guard and guide each? If He has sustained the orbs of light in their mighty rounds, will He fail the poor soul that clings to His feet?
They that wait on God change their strength. In their earliest days they rely on the energy and vigor of youth, on their blameless, unstained character, in the consciousness of their glorious manhood; but as years pass, they come to count all these as refuse in comparison with Jesus Christ the Lord, Philippians 3:8. Notice the order in Isaiah 40:31! At first sight we should have expected that it would advance from walking to running, and so to flying. But that order is reversed. It is more difficult to walk than to mount! Every cyclist will tell you that the hardest task is to keep your cycle at walking pace. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 40

1  The promulgation of the Gospel
3  The preaching of John Baptist foretold
9  The preaching of the apostles foretold
12  The prophet, by the omnipotence of God
18  And his incomparableness
26  Comforts the people

What do the individual words in Isaiah 40:24 mean?

Scarcely not shall they be planted shall they be sown shall take root in the earth their stock and when also He will blow on them and they will wither and the whirlwind like stubble will take them away -
אַ֣ף בַּל־ נִטָּ֗עוּ זֹרָ֔עוּ שֹׁרֵ֥שׁ בָּאָ֖רֶץ גִּזְעָ֑ם וְגַם־ נָשַׁ֤ף בָּהֶם֙ וַיִּבָ֔שׁוּ וּסְעָרָ֖ה כַּקַּ֥שׁ תִּשָּׂאֵֽם ס

אַ֣ף  Scarcely 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אַף  
Sense: also, yea, though, so much the more adv.
נִטָּ֗עוּ  shall  they  be  planted 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָטַע  
Sense: to plant, fasten, fix, establish.
זֹרָ֔עוּ  shall  they  be  sown 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: זָרַע  
Sense: to sow, scatter seed.
שֹׁרֵ֥שׁ  shall  take  root 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁרַשׁ  
Sense: to uproot, take root, deal with the roots.
בָּאָ֖רֶץ  in  the  earth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
גִּזְעָ֑ם  their  stock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: גֶּזַע  
Sense: stem, trunk, stock (of trees).
וְגַם־  and  when  also 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
נָשַׁ֤ף  He  will  blow 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָשַׁף  
Sense: (Qal) to blow.
בָּהֶם֙  on  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
וַיִּבָ֔שׁוּ  and  they  will  wither 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
וּסְעָרָ֖ה  and  the  whirlwind 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: סַעַר 
Sense: tempest, storm, whirlwind.
כַּקַּ֥שׁ  like  stubble 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַשׁ  
Sense: stubble, chaff.
תִּשָּׂאֵֽם  will  take  them  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation