Isaiah 10 · Verse 4

Isaiah 10:4

Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 10:4, King James Version

Isaiah 10:4 in other translations

BSBNothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
WEBThey will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
ASVThey shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
YLTWithout Me it hath bowed down In the place of a bound one, And in the place of the slain they fall. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out.
DARBYThey can but crouch under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
BBE... For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
WebsterWithout me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

What does Isaiah 10:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. Without me--not having Me to "flee to" (Is 10:3). bow down--Bereft of strength they shall fall; or else, they shall lie down fettered. under ... under--rather, "among" (literally, "in the place of") [Horsley]. The "under" may be, however, explained, "trodden under the (feet of the) prisoners going into captivity," and "overwhelmed under the heaps of slain on the battlefield" [Maurer]. Is 10:5-34 and Is 11:12. Destruction of the Assyrians; Coming of Messiah; Hymn of Praise. Is 10:9, 11 show that Samaria was destroyed before this prophecy. It was written when Assyria proposed (a design which it soon after tried to carry out under Sennacherib) to destroy Judah and Jerusalem, as it had destroyed Samaria. This is the first part of Isaiah's prophecies under Hezekiah. Probably between 722 and 715 B.C. (see Is 10:27).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Without me - That is, without my aid: they shall be taken captive even by the captives, and shall be subdued even by the vanquished. "The י yod in בלתי bilti is a pronoun, as in Hos 13:4." - Kimchi on the place. One MS. has לבלתי lebilti. As the people had hitherto lived without God in worship and obedience; so they should now be without his help, and should perish in their transgressions.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 10:1-4

Woes against proud oppressors. (Is. 10:1-4) The Assyrian but an instrument in the hand of God for the punishment of his people. (Is. 10:5-19) The deliverance from him. (Is. 10:20-34) Verses 1-4 These verses are to be joined with the foregoing chapter. Woe to the superior powers that devise and decree unrighteous decrees! And woe to the inferior officers that draw them up, and enter them on record! But what will…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 10:1-4 →

Isaiah 10:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בִּלְתִּ֤יbil.TiexceptH1115
כָרַע֙kha.Ra'anyone kneeled downH3766
תַּ֣חַתTa.chatunderH8478
אַסִּ֔יר'a.Sirprisoner[s]H616
וְתַ֥חַתve.Ta.chatand underH8478
הֲרוּגִ֖יםha.ru.Gim[the] slain [people]H2026
יִפֹּ֑לוּyi.Po.luthey will fallH5307
בְּכָל\־be.kholfor allH3605
זֹאת֙zoTthisH2063
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
שָׁ֣בshavit has turned backH7725
אַפּ֔וֹ'a.Poanger hisH639
וְע֖וֹדve.'odand stillH5750
יָד֥וֹya.Dohand hisH3027
נְטוּיָֽה\׃\ \סne.tu.Yah[is] stretched outH5186

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 10:4

  • Isaiah 5:25

    Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

  • Jeremiah 37:10

    For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

  • Isaiah 9:12

    The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

  • Deuteronomy 32:30

    How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

  • Leviticus 26:17

    And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

  • Leviticus 26:36-37

    And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

  • Isaiah 24:22

    And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

  • Isaiah 34:3

    Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

  • Deuteronomy 31:15-18

    And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

  • Isaiah 22:2

    Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

  • Isaiah 9:21

    Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

  • Hosea 9:12

    Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Without me.
Le 26:17,36,37; De 31:15-18; 32:30; Jer 37:10; Ho 9:12
For all this.
5:25; 9:12,17,21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 10:3

    And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

  • Isaiah 10:4

    Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

  • Isaiah 10:5

    O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Read all of Isaiah 10

Isaiah 10:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Sin mí se inclinarán entre los presos, y entre los muertos caerán. Ni con todo esto ha cesado su furor, antes todavía extendida su mano.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il ne reste qu’à se courber sous les prisonniers; et ils tomberont sous ceux qui sont massacrés. Pour tout cela, sa colère ne s’est pas détournée, et sa main est encore étendue.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Nichts anderes bleibt übrig, als unter Gefesselten sich zu krümmen; und unter Erschlagenen fallen sie hin. -Bei dem allen wendet sich sein Zorn nicht ab, und noch ist seine Hand ausgestreckt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		ne incurvemini sub vinculo, et cum interfectis cadatis? Super omnibus his non est aversus furor ejus, sed adhuc manus ejus extenta.