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Friday, December 19th, 2025
the Third Week of Advent
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New Life Version

Isaiah 33:4

The things taken in war will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men rush upon it like locusts.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Locust;   Scofield Reference Index - Kingdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture;   Agriculture-Horticulture;   Locusts;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies;   Insects;   Locust, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Caterpillar;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Gebim;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Caterpillar;   Insects;   Isaiah;   Leaf, Leaves;   Locust;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jacob;   Locust;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Caterpiller;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Caterpillar;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fall;   Locust;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
Hebrew Names Version
Your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathers: as locusts leap shall men leap on it.
King James Version
And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.
English Standard Version
and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
New American Standard Bible
Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it.
New Century Version
Like locusts, your enemies will take away the things you stole in war. Like locusts rushing about, they will take your wealth.
Amplified Bible
Your spoil [of Israel's foe] is gathered [by the people of Jerusalem] as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts swarming so people swarm on it.
World English Bible
Your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathers: as locusts leap shall men leap on it.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And your spoyle shall be gathered like the gathering of caterpillers: and he shall go against him like the leaping of grashoppers.
Legacy Standard Bible
Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.
Berean Standard Bible
Your spoil will be gathered as if by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men will pounce on it.
Contemporary English Version
We attack our enemies like swarms of locusts; we take everything that belongs to them.
Complete Jewish Bible
Your spoil is gathered as if stripped by shearer-worms; they run over it like a swarm of locusts.
Darby Translation
And your spoil shall be gathered [like] the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running of locusts shall they run upon it.
Easy-to-Read Version
You people stole things in war. Those things will be taken from you. Many will come and take your wealth. It will be like the times when locusts come and eat all your crops.
George Lamsa Translation
Henceforth your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar; as a swarm of locusts when it is gathered together.
Good News Translation
Their belongings are pounced upon and taken as loot.
Lexham English Bible
And your spoil is gathered, as the gathering of the locust, as a swarm of locusts storming on it.
Literal Translation
And Your prey shall be gathered as the stripping locust gathers; as locusts run to and fro, he also runs about on it.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and that their spoyle maye be gathered, as the greshoppers are comonly gathered together in to the pyt.
American Standard Version
And your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathereth: as locusts leap shall men leap upon it.
Bible in Basic English
And the goods taken in war will be got together like the massing of young locusts; men will be rushing on them like the rushing of locusts.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathereth; as locusts leap do they leap upon it.
King James Version (1611)
And your spoile shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of Locusts shall he runne vpon them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the spoyles shalbe gathered, which shalbe yours, as are the gathetheryng of Bruchus, and the multitude goyng to it shalbe as Locustes, running to and fro.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now shall the spoils of your small and great be gathered: as if one should gather locusts, so shall they mock you.
English Revised Version
And your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpiller gathereth: as locusts leap shall they leap upon it.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And youre spuylis schulen be gaderid togidere, as a bruke is gaderid togidere, as whanne dichis ben ful therof.
Update Bible Version
And your spoil shall be gathered [as] the caterpillar gathers: as locusts leap shall men leap on it.
Webster's Bible Translation
And your spoil shall be gathered [like] the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.
New English Translation
Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts!
New King James Version
And Your plunder shall be gathered Like the gathering of the caterpillar; As the running to and fro of locusts, He shall run upon them.
New Living Translation
Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines, so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!
New Revised Standard
Spoil was gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, they leaped upon it.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall your spoil be gathered as the gathering of the caterpillar, - As the swift running of locusts, is he about to run upon them.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And your spoils shall be gathered together as the locusts are gathered, as when the ditches are full of them.
Revised Standard Version
and spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, men leap upon it.
Young's Literal Translation
And gathered hath been your spoil, A gathering of the caterpillar, As a running to and fro of locusts is he running on it.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.

Contextual Overview

1 It is bad for you, O destroyer, you who were not destroyed yourself! You cannot be trusted, but others have trusted you. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed. As soon as you stop lying, others will lie to you. 2 O Lord, be kind to us. We have waited for You. Be our strength every morning. Save us in the time of trouble. 3 At the loud noise of battle, the people run. When You lift Yourself up, nations divide and run. 4 The things taken in war will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men rush upon it like locusts. 5 The Lord is honored, for He lives on high. He has filled Zion with what is right and fair and good. 6 He will be for you what is sure and faithful for your times, with much saving power, wisdom and learning. The fear of the Lord is worth much. 7 See, their men with strength of heart cry in the streets. The men sent to bring peace cry many tears. 8 The roads are empty. The traveler does not travel. He has broken the agreement. He has hated the cities. He does not care for man. 9 The land is filled with sorrow and wastes away. Lebanon is put to shame and wastes away. Sharon is like a desert. And Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves. 10 "Now I will rise up," says the Lord. "Now I will be honored. Now I will be lifted up.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

your spoil: Isaiah 33:23, 2 Kings 7:15, 2 Kings 7:16, 2 Chronicles 14:13, 2 Chronicles 20:25

the running: Joel 2:9, Joel 2:25

Reciprocal: Psalms 78:46 - the caterpillar Jeremiah 50:10 - all that Joel 1:4 - the caterpillar Amos 7:1 - he Nahum 2:9 - ye Habakkuk 2:8 - thou Revelation 9:3 - locusts

Cross-References

Genesis 32:28
And the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. For you have fought with God and with men, and have won."
Genesis 43:30
Then Joseph went out in a hurry. For he had much feeling for his brother. He went in his room and cried.
Genesis 43:34
Joseph took food to them from his own table. But Benjamin's food was five times as much as any of theirs. And they were free in eating and drinking with him.
Genesis 45:2
He cried so loud that the Egyptians heard it, and those of Pharaoh's house heard of it.
Genesis 46:29
Then Joseph made his wagon ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. When he came to him, they put their arms around each other and cried for a long time.
Nehemiah 1:11
O Lord, hear the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who are happy to fear Your name. Make Your servant do well today, and give him loving-pity in front of this man." Now I was the one who carried the cup for the king.
Job 2:12
And when they looked up from far away and saw how different he looked, they cried in loud voices. They tore their clothing and threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
Psalms 34:4
I looked for the Lord, and He answered me. And He took away all my fears.
Proverbs 16:7
When the ways of a man are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even those who hate him to be at peace with him.
Proverbs 21:1
The heart of the king is like rivers of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it where He wishes.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And your spoil shall be gathered [like] the gathering of the caterpillar,.... This is the answer of the Lord to the prayer of his church, signifying that their enemies should flee, be scattered, and perish, and that they should be victorious, and enjoy the spoils of them; which they should gather as easily as the caterpillar or locust, as some render it, gathers and consumes herbs, and every green thing; or as easily as they are gathered, and laid on heaps, being weak and unable to defend themselves: most understand it of the Jews going into the camp of the Assyrians, after the destruction of them by the angel, and gathering their spoil. The Targum is,

"and the house of Israel shall gather the substance of the people, their enemies, as they gather a locust:''

the antichristian locusts or caterpillars are here meant, whose substance shall fall into the hands of the followers of Christ, when they shall have got the victory of them; this is the flesh of the whore, her worldly substance, which the kings of the earth, the Christian kings, shall eat or enjoy, Revelation 17:16:

as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them: or "upon it"; the spoil; as these locusts, of which see Revelation 9:3 run to and fro, and pillaged them in times past, as the creatures, to whom they are compared, run to and fro and destroy the fruits of the earth, so now everyone of the followers of Christ shall run and seize upon the spoil of the antichristian states.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And your spoil - The booty that the Assyrian army bad gathered in their march toward Jerusalem, and which would now be left by them to be collected by the Jews.

Shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar - The grammatical construction here is such that this may admit of two interpretations. It may either mean, as the caterpillar or the locust is gathered; or it may mean, as the caterpillar gathers its spoil. It often occurred that in countries where the locust was an article of food, they were scraped together in large quantities, and thrown into ditches, or into reservoirs, and retained to be eaten. This is the custom in some parts of Africa. But the meaning here is, undoubtedly, that the plunder of the Assyrian army would be collected by the Jews, as the locust gathered its food. The sense is, that as locusts spread themselves out over a land, as they go to and fro without rule and without molestation, gathering whatever is in their way, and consuming everything, so the Jews in great numbers, and without regular military array, would run to and fro collecting the spoils of the Assyrian army. In a country where such devastation was made by the caterpillar and locust as in Palestine, this was a very striking figure. The word rendered ‘caterpillar’ here חסיל châseyl from חסל châsal to cut off, consume), properly denotes the devourer, and is applied usually to a species of locust. So it is understood here by most of the versions. The Septuagint renders it, ‘As if one were gathering locusts, so will they insult you.’


 
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