Isaiah 10 · Verse 7

Isaiah 10:7

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
Isaiah 10:7, King James Version

Isaiah 10:7 in other translations

BSBBut this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
WEBHowever, he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations.
ASVHowbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.
YLTAnd he--he thinketh not so, And his heart reckoneth not so, For--to destroy is in his heart, And to cut off nations not a few.
DARBYBut he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; for it is in his heart to extirpate and cut off nations not a few.
BBEBut this is not what is in his mind, and this is not his design; but his purpose is destruction, and the cutting off of more and more nations.
WebsterHowbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

What does Isaiah 10:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
7. meaneth not so--He is only thinking of his own schemes, while God is overruling them to His purposes. think--intend. Sinners' plans are no less culpable, though they by them unconsciously fulfil God's designs (Psa 76:10; Mi 4:12). So Joseph's brethren (Ge 50:20; Pr 16:4). The sinner's motive, not the result (which depends on God), will be the test in judgment. heart to destroy ... not a few--Sennacherib's ambition was not confined to Judea. His plan was also to conquer Egypt and Ethiopia (Is 20:1-6; Zec 1:15).

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

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 10:5-19

See what a change sin made. The king of Assyria, in his pride, thought to act by his own will. The tyrants of the world are tools of Providence. God designs to correct his people for their hypocrisy, and bring them nearer to him; but is that Sennacherib's design? No; he designs to gratify his own covetousness and ambition. The Assyrian boasts what great things he has done to other nations, by his own policy and…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 10:5-19 →

Isaiah 10:7 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.

וְהוּא֙ve.Hu'and heH1931
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
כֵ֣ןkhenthusH3651
יְדַמֶּ֔הye.da.Mehhe intendedH1819
וּלְבָב֖וֹu.le.va.Voand heart hisH3824
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
כֵ֣ןkhenthusH3651
יַחְשֹׁ֑בyach.Shoit plannedH2803
כִּ֚יkiforH3588
לְהַשְׁמִ֣ידle.hash.Midto destroyH8045
בִּלְבָב֔וֹbil.va.Vo[is] in heart hisH3824
וּלְהַכְרִ֥יתu.le.hakh.Ritand to cut offH3772
גּוֹיִ֖םgo.YimnationsH1471
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
מְעָֽט\׃me.'Ata fewH4592

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

Cross references for Isaiah 10:7

  • Genesis 50:20

    But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

  • Acts 2:23

    Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

  • Micah 4:11-12

    Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

  • Isaiah 36:18-20

    Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

  • Acts 13:27-30

    For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead:

  • Isaiah 37:11-13

    Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he meaneth.
Ge 50:20; Mic 4:11,12; Ac 2:23; 13:27-30
in his heart.
36:18-20; 37:11-13

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

Context

  • Isaiah 10:6

    I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

  • Isaiah 10:7

    Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

  • Isaiah 10:8

    For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Read all of Isaiah 10

Isaiah 10:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Aunque él no lo pensará así, ni su corazón lo imaginará de esta manera; sino que su pensamiento será desarraigar y cortar gentes no pocas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Mais lui n’en juge pas ainsi, et son cœur ne pense pas ainsi; car il a au cœur de dévaster et de retrancher des nations, pas en petit nombre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er aber meint es nicht also, und sein Herz denkt nicht also; sondern zu vertilgen hat er im Sinne und auszurotten nicht wenige Nationen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ipse autem non sic arbitrabitur, et cor ejus non ita existimabit; sed ad conterendum erit cor ejus, et ad internecionem gentium non paucarum.