Isaiah 1:31

Christian Standard Bible ®

The strong one will become tinder,and his work a spark;both will burn together,with no one to extinguish the flames.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The strong will be like tinder, And his work like a spark. They will both burn together, And no one will quench them."

King James Version
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

English Standard Version
And the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.

New American Standard Bible
The strong man will become like flax fiber, And his work a spark. So they shall both burn together And there will be no one to extinguish them.

New Century Version
Powerful people will be like small, dry pieces of wood, and their works will be like sparks. They will burn together, and no one will be able to put out that fire."

Amplified Bible
The strong man will become tinder, And his work a spark. So both will burn together And there will be none to quench them.

World English Bible
The strong will be like tinder, And his work like a spark. They will both burn together, And no one will quench them."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the strong shalbe as towe, and the maker thereof, as a sparke: and they shall both burne together, and none shall quench them.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the strong man will become tinder,His work also a spark.Thus they shall both burn together,And there will be none to quench them.

Berean Standard Bible
The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.

Contemporary English Version
Your strongest leaders will be like dry wood set on fire by their idols. No one will be able to help, as they all go up in flames.

Complete Jewish Bible
The strong will be like tinder and [the idol's] maker like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put them out."

Darby Translation
And the strong shall be for tow, and his work a spark; and they shall both burn together, and there shall be none to quench [them].

Easy-to-Read Version
Powerful people will be like small, dry pieces of wood, and what they did will be like the sparks that start a fire. These people and their works will both burn up, and no one will be able to put out that fire.

George Lamsa Translation
And their strength shall be like cotton, and their works like a spark, and they shall both burn together, and there shall be none to quench them.

Good News Translation
Just as straw is set on fire by a spark, so powerful people will be destroyed by their own evil deeds, and no one will be able to stop the destruction.

Lexham English Bible
And the strong man shall become like tinder, and his work like a spark. And both of them shall burn together, and there is not one to quench them."

Literal Translation
And the strong shall be for tow, and his work for a spark; and they shall burn both together; and no one shall quench them .

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And as for the glory of these thinges, it shalbe turned to drie strawe, and he that made them to a sparke. And they shal both burne together, so that no man shalbe able to quench them.

American Standard Version
And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Bible in Basic English
And the strong will be as food for the fire, and his work as a flame; and they will be burned together, with no one to put out the fire.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

King James Version (1611)
And the strong shall be as towe, and the maker of it as a sparke, and they shall both burne together, and none shall quench them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the very strong one [of your idols] shalbe as towe, and the maker of it as a sparke [of fire] and they shal both burne together, and no man quenche them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And their strength shall be as a thread of tow, and their works as sparks, and the transgressors and the sinners shall be burnt up together, and there shall be none to quench them.

English Revised Version
And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And youre strengthe schal be as a deed sparcle of bonys, `ether of herdis of flex, and youre werk schal be as a quyk sparcle; and euer either schal be brent togidere, and noon schal be that schal quenche.

Update Bible Version
And the strong shall be as flax, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench [them].

New English Translation
The powerful will be like a thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire.

New King James Version
The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.

New Living Translation
The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.

New Life Bible
The strong man will become easy to burn, and his work also a fire. They will burn together, and there will be no one to put the fire out.

New Revised Standard
The strong shall become like tinder, and their work like a spark; they and their work shall burn together, with no one to quench them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall the strong one become tow, And his work a spark, - And they shall both blaze together And there be none to quench the fire.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow, and your work as a spark: and both shall burn together, and there shall be none to quench it.

Revised Standard Version
And the strong shall become tow, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.

Young's Literal Translation
And the strong hath been for tow, And his work for a spark, And burned have both of them together, And there is none quenching!

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.

Contextual Overview

²¹The faithful town—what an adulteress she has become!She was once full of justice.Righteousness once dwelt in her,but now, murderers! ²²Your silver has become dross to be discarded,your beer is diluted with water. ²³Your rulers are rebels,friends of thieves.They all love graftand chase after bribes.They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,and the widow’s case never comes before them. ²⁴Therefore the Lord God of Armies,the Mighty One of Israel, declares:“Ah, I will get even with my foes;I will take revenge against my enemies. ²⁵I will turn my hand against youand will burn away your dross completely;I will remove all your impurities. ²⁶I will restore your judges to what they were at first,and your advisers to what they were at the start.Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,a Faithful Town.” ²⁷Zion will be redeemed by justice,those who repent, by righteousness. ²⁸At the same time both rebels and sinners will be broken,and those who abandon the Lord will perish. ²⁹Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred treesyou desired,and you will be embarrassed because of the garden shrinesyou have chosen. ³⁰For you will become like an oakwhose leaves are withered,and like a garden without water.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the strong: Ezekiel 32:21

as tow: Isaiah 27:4, Isaiah 43:17, Isaiah 50:11, Judges 15:14, Revelation 6:14-17

the maker of it: or, his work

and they: Isaiah 34:9, Isaiah 34:10, Isaiah 66:24, Ezekiel 20:47, Ezekiel 20:48, Malachi 4:1, Matthew 3:10, Mark 9:43-49, Revelation 14:10, Revelation 14:11, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:10

Reciprocal: Judges 9:15 - let fire Isaiah 9:18 - wickedness Jeremiah 11:16 - with Jeremiah 17:27 - shall not Jeremiah 21:12 - none Lamentations 2:3 - he burned Ezekiel 6:6 - your works Ezekiel 15:4 - the fire Amos 5:6 - there Habakkuk 2:18 - that the Matthew 3:12 - with

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:2
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:5
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.

Genesis 1:8
God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.

Genesis 1:13
Evening came and then morning: the third day.

Genesis 1:19
Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.

Genesis 1:23
Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.

Genesis 2:2
On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Exodus 20:11
For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

Job 38:7
while the morning stars sang togetherand all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the strong shall be as tow,.... החסון, "that strong one", who is eminently so; the little horn, whose look is more stout than his fellows, Daniel 7:20 the beast who had great power and authority given by the dragon, Revelation 13:2 who shall be cast alive into the lake of fire; when he will be like tow in those devouring flames, easily, quickly, and irrecoverably consumed, Daniel 7:11

Revelation 19:20

and the maker of it as a spark, or "his work"; so the Targum,

"and the work of their hands shall be as a spark of fire;''

or like the embers and ashes of a coal, which are blown away and lost at once: so antichrist, and all his evil works, as well as all his evil workers under him, will be entirely consumed: or, as it may be rendered, "he that wrought him": that is, Satan, for his coming is after the working of Satan; he has his seat, power, and authority, from the dragon, the old serpent, and the devil, and may be truly called a creature of his, 2 Thessalonians 2:9

and they shall both burn together; both the pope and the devil in the lake of fire and brimstone, into which they will both be cast,

Revelation 20:10

and none shall quench [them]; that fire will be unquenchable and everlasting; they will be tormented for ever and ever, and so will all the worshippers of the beast, Matthew 25:41. The Chaldee paraphrase is,

"so the wicked shall be consumed, and their evil works, and there shall be no mercy upon them.''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the strong - Those who have been thought to be strong, on whom the people relied for protection and defense - their rulers, princes, and the commanders of their armies.

As tow - The coarse or broken part of flax, or hemp. It means here that which shall be easily and quickly kindled and rapidly consumed. As tow burns and is destroyed at the touch of fire, so shall the rulers of the people be consumed by the approaching calamities.

And the maker of it - This is an unhappy translation. The word פעלו po‛ălô may be indeed a participle, and be rendered ‘its maker,’ but it is more commonly a noun, and means his work, or his action. This is its plain meaning here. So the Latin Vulgate, the Septuagint, and the Chaldee. It means, that as a spark enkindles tow, so the works or deeds of a wicked nation shall be the occasion or cause of their destruction. The ambition of one man is the cause of his ruin; the sensuality of a second is the cause of his; the avarice of a third is the cause of his. These passions, insatiable and ungratified, shall be the occasion of the deep and eternal sorrows of hell. So it means here, that the crimes and hypocrisy of the nation would be the real cause of all the calamities that would come upon them as a people.

Shall both burn together - The spark and the flame from the kindled flax mingle, and make one fire. So the people and their works would be enkindled and destroyed together. They would burn so rapidly, that nothing could extinguish them. The meaning is, that the nation would be punished; and that all their works of idolatry and monuments of sin would be the occasion of their punishment, and would perish at the same time. The “principle” involved in this passage teaches us the following things:

(1) That the wicked, however mighty, shall be destroyed.

(2) That their works will be the “cause” of their ruin - a cause necessarily leading to it.

(3) That the works of the wicked - all that they do and all on which they depend - shall be destroyed.

(4) That this destruction shall be final. Nothing shall stay the flame. No tears of penitence, no power of men or devils, shall “put out” the fires which the works of the wicked shall enkindle.