The Meaning of Isaiah 5:24 Explained

Isaiah 5:24

KJV: Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

YLT: Therefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And flaming hay falleth, Their root is as muck, And their flower as dust goeth up. Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And the saying of the Holy One of Israel despised.

Darby: Therefore as a tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and dry grass sinketh down in the flame, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; for they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

ASV: Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore as the fire  devoureth  the stubble,  and the flame  consumeth  the chaff,  [so] their root  shall be as rottenness,  and their blossom  shall go up  as dust:  because they have cast away  the law  of the LORD  of hosts,  and despised  the word  of the Holy One  of Israel. 

What does Isaiah 5:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The people had challenged God to act speedily ( Isaiah 5:19), and Isaiah assured them that He would. God in judgment is seen as an external fire that would consume His people. He would also be to them as an internal disease that decimates a whole plant, from roots to shoots. The reason for judgment is the people"s rejection of mighty Yahweh"s revealed will (cf. Isaiah 5:12).

Context Summary

Isaiah 5:18-30 - Warning Against Pride, Intemperance, And Corruption
The wild grapes of Judah are here continued: blind atheism, Isaiah 5:18-20; proud self-conceit, Isaiah 5:21; drunkenness, Isaiah 5:22; injustice in the courts, Isaiah 5:23-24. What a terrible description is that given in Isaiah 5:18 of the inevitable progress of sin! The bacchanalian procession which is seen, in Isaiah 5:14, descending with music and flowers into the open gates of Hades is described in Isaiah 5:18 as being drawn down by a cable. Men begin with a thread, but the thread of habit becomes a rope, and the rope grows to a cable, which ultimately lands a man in the pit. From Isaiah 5:25 onward we have the description of impending judgment. Earthquakes, armed raids, civil strife, and famine fever, the devastating inroads of hostile invasion, a desolate land and a hungry sea such would be the forces of destruction which Judah's sin would unloose. Recent events have revealed the terror of such a visitation. Remember that the wrath of love is as severe as a consuming fire. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 5

1  Under the parable of a vineyard, God excuses his severe judgment
8  His judgments upon covetousness
11  Upon lasciviousness
13  Upon impiety
20  And upon injustice
26  The executioners of God's judgments

What do the individual words in Isaiah 5:24 mean?

Therefore as devours the stubble a tongue the fire and the chaff the flame consumes [So] their root as rottenness will be and their blossom like dust will ascend because they have rejected - the law of Yahweh of hosts and the word of the Holy one of Israel despised
לָכֵן֩ כֶּאֱכֹ֨ל קַ֜שׁ לְשׁ֣וֹן אֵ֗שׁ וַחֲשַׁ֤שׁ לֶֽהָבָה֙ יִרְפֶּ֔ה שָׁרְשָׁם֙ כַּמָּ֣ק יִֽהְיֶ֔ה וּפִרְחָ֖ם כָּאָבָ֣ק יַעֲלֶ֑ה כִּ֣י מָאֲס֗וּ אֵ֚ת תּוֹרַת֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת וְאֵ֛ת אִמְרַ֥ת קְדֽוֹשׁ־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נִאֵֽצוּ

כֶּאֱכֹ֨ל  as  devours 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
קַ֜שׁ  the  stubble 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַשׁ  
Sense: stubble, chaff.
לְשׁ֣וֹן  a  tongue 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: לָשֹׁון  
Sense: tongue.
אֵ֗שׁ  the  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
וַחֲשַׁ֤שׁ  and  the  chaff 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲשַׁשׁ  
Sense: chaff, dry grass.
לֶֽהָבָה֙  the  flame 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: לֶהָבָה  
Sense: flame.
יִרְפֶּ֔ה  consumes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָפָה  
Sense: to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened.
שָׁרְשָׁם֙  [So]  their  root 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: שֹׁרֶשׁ  
Sense: root.
כַּמָּ֣ק  as  rottenness 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַק  
Sense: decay, rottenness.
יִֽהְיֶ֔ה  will  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
וּפִרְחָ֖ם  and  their  blossom 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: פֶּרַח  
Sense: bud, sprout.
כָּאָבָ֣ק  like  dust 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָבָק  
Sense: dust.
יַעֲלֶ֑ה  will  ascend 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
כִּ֣י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
מָאֲס֗וּ  they  have  rejected 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָאַס 
Sense: to reject, despise, refuse.
אֵ֚ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
תּוֹרַת֙  the  law 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תֹּורָה  
Sense: law, direction, instruction.
יְהוָ֣ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֔וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
אִמְרַ֥ת  the  word 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אִמְרָה 
Sense: utterance, speech, word.
קְדֽוֹשׁ־  of  the  Holy  one 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: קָדֹושׁ  
Sense: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
נִאֵֽצוּ  despised 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָאַץ  
Sense: to spurn, contemn, despise, abhor.