Isaiah 31:8
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to taskwork.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Then the Assyrian will come down by the sword, but not of man; the sword, not of men, will be the cause of his destruction: and he will go in flight from the sword, and his young men will be put to forced work.
Webster's Revision
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
World English Bible
"The Assyrian will fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of mankind, shall devour him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will become subject to forced labor.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him: and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become tributary.
Definitions for Isaiah 31:8
Clarke's Isaiah 31:8 Bible Commentary
"Wherefore do ye weigh out your silver (בלוא לחם belo lechem) for the no-bread."
Isaiah 31:8Then shall the Assyrian fall, etc. - Because he was to be discomfited by the angel of the Lord, destroying in his camp, in one night, upwards of one hundred and eighty thousand men; and Sennacherib himself fell by the hands of the princes, his own sons. Not mighty men, for they were not soldiers; not mean men, for they were princes.
Barnes's Isaiah 31:8 Bible Commentary
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword - The sword is often used as an instrument of punishment. It is not meant here literally that the sword would be used, but it is employed to denote that complete destruction would come upon them.
Not of a mighty man - The idea here is, that the army should not fall by the valor of a distinguished warrior, but that it should be done by the direct interposition of God (see Isaiah 37:36).
Of a mean man - Of a man of humble rank. His army shall not be slain by the hand of mortals.
But he shall flee - The Assyrian monarch escaped when his army was destroyed, and fled toward his own land; Isaiah 37:37.
From the sword - Margin, 'For fear of.' The Hebrew is 'From the face of the sword;' and the sense is, that he would flee in consequence of the destruction of his host, here represented as destroyed by the sword of Yahweh.
And his young men - The flower and strength of his army.
Shall be discomfited - Margin, 'For melting;' or 'tribute,' or 'tributary.' Septuagint, Εἰς ἥττημα Eis hēttēma - 'For destruction.' The Hebrew word (מס mas), derived probably from מסס mâsas, "to melt away, to dissolve") is most usually employed to denote a levy, fine, or tax - so called, says Taylor, because it wastes or exhausts the substance and strength of a people. The word is often used to denote that people become tributary, or vassals, as in Genesis 49:15; Deuteronomy 20:11; compare Joshua 16:10; 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:13; Esther 10:1. Probably it does not here mean that the strength of the Assyrian army would become literally tributary to the Jews, but that they would be as if they had been placed under a levy to them; their vigor and strength would melt away; as property and numbers do under taxation and tribute.
Wesley's Isaiah 31:8 Bible Commentary
31:8 The sword - Not of any man, but of an angel. Discomfited - Heb.shall melt away, a great part of them being destroyed by the angel; and the hearts of the rest melting for fear.