Isaiah 1:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

NIV: but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

NASB: But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

CSB: But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

NLT: But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!'

KJV: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

NKJV: But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Lord, through the pen of Isaiah, is offering His people an opportunity to repent. To stop their sinful choices and embrace new, good actions of taking care of the least among them. (Isaiah 1:16–17) He has said that if they are willing to obey Him, they will have all they need and more.(Isaiah 1:19) If they will do what is right before the Lord in their hearts and with their actions they will thrive and be protected from their enemies.

Now the Lord adds that if they refuse this offer to repent and continue to rebel against Him, they will be "eaten by the sword". It's a powerful use of poetic wordplay. Either God's faithful people will eat well from the land or they will become the food of their enemies' swords and be destroyed.

The Lord is abridging His covenant with His people (Deuteronomy 30:15–20) to one choice: obey and prosper or rebel and be destroyed. It couldn't be simpler.

He ends this section with a phrase, "the mouth of the Lord has spoken", which means these words are final and just.

Isaiah 1:2–20 begins a presentation somewhat like a lawsuit against the people of Judah in Israel. The Lord will show many of the ways they have broken their covenant with Him. The people are saturated with sin. They have forsaken Him. Isaiah describes a spiritual sickness Israel refuses to treat. It will lead to their physical destruction by enemy invaders. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful rebellion. God calls them to stop sinning and to do good. He offers to make their sins white as snow if they repent and to consume them if they rebel.

After identifying himself as the son of Amoz, Isaiah begins his vision from the Lord with the introduction of God's lawsuit against the people of Israel. His children are living in rebellion against Him. They are saturated in sin and have forsaken the Lord. Their spiritual sickness will lead to their destruction, though a few will be saved. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful lifestyles. If they repent now, they will be redeemed. If not, they will be destroyed. The Lord will restore justice to once righteous Jerusalem. All who do not repent will be consumed.

Isaiah 1 begins Isaiah's massive book of prophecy with the Lord presenting a lawsuit against His people Israel in Judah for breach of covenant. They live in rebellion against Him and are saturated in sin. They refuse to treat their spiritual illness and will be decimated by their enemies. Their offerings are meaningless. They must stop doing evil and start doing what is good. The Lord will burn off the corrupt from Jerusalem and return it to a place of justice and righteousness. Those who refuse to repent will be broken and destroyed.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

Accessed 11/23/2024 8:18:00 PM