Isaiah 8 · Verse 4

Isaiah 8:4

For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
Isaiah 8:4, King James Version

Isaiah 8:4 in other translations

BSBFor before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
WEBFor before the child knows how to say, ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
ASVFor before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.
YLTfor before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.'
DARBYFor before the lad knoweth to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
BBEFor before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.
WebsterFor before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

What does Isaiah 8:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. before, &c.--within a year.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 For before the child - For my father and my mother, one MS. and the Vulgate have his father and his mother. The prophecy was accordingly accomplished within three years; when Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, went up against Damascus and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin, and also took the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and carried them captive to Assyria, 2Kgs 15:29; 2Kgs 16:9; 1Chr 5:26.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 8:1-8

Exhortations and warnings. (Is. 8:1-8) Comfort for those who fear God. (Is. 8:9-16) Afflictions to idolaters. (Is. 8:17-22) Verses 1-8 The prophet is to write on a large roll, or on a metal tablet, words which meant, "Make speed to spoil, hasten to the prey:" pointing out that the Assyrian army should come with speed, and make great spoil. Very soon the riches of Damascus and of Samaria, cities then secure and…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 8:1-8 →

Isaiah 8:4 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.

כִּ֗יKiforH3588
בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙be.Te.rem<in> beforeH2962
יֵדַ֣עye.Da'he will knowH3045
הַנַּ֔עַרha.Na.'arthe ladH5288
קְרֹ֖אke.Ro'to call outH7121
אָבִ֣י'a.ViO father myH1
וְאִמִּ֑יve.'i.Miand O mother myH517
יִשָּׂ֣א\׀yi.Sa'someone will carry offH5375
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
חֵ֣ילcheil[the] wealth ofH2428
דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂקda.Me.sekDamascusH1834
וְאֵת֙ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
שְׁלַ֣לshe.Lal[the] plunder ofH7998
שֹׁמְר֔וֹןsho.me.RonSamariaH8111
לִפְנֵ֖יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
מֶ֥לֶךְMe.lekh[the] king ofH4428
אַשּֽׁוּר\׃\ \ס'a.ShurAssyriaH804

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

Cross references for Isaiah 8:4

  • Romans 9:11

    (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

  • 2 Kings 17:3

    Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.

  • 2 Kings 16:9

    And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

  • Isaiah 10:6-14

    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. 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. For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? …

  • 2 Kings 17:5-6

    Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

  • Deuteronomy 1:39

    Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

  • Jonah 4:11

    And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

  • Isaiah 7:8-9

    For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

  • Isaiah 7:15-16

    Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

  • Isaiah 17:3

    The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • 2 Kings 15:29

    In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath–pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel–beth–maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
before.
7:15,16; De 1:39; Jon 4:11; Ro 9:11
the riches of Damascus, etc. or, he that is before the kingof Assyria shall take away the riches, etc.
10:6-14; 17:3; 2Ki 15:29; 16:9; 17:3,5,6

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

Context

  • Isaiah 8:3

    And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

  • Isaiah 8:4

    For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

  • Isaiah 8:5

    The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,

Read all of Isaiah 8

Isaiah 8:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque antes que el niño sepa decir, Padre mío, y Madre mía, será quitada la fuerza de Damasco y los despojos de Samaria, en la presencia del rey de Asiria.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		car avant que l’enfant sache crier: Mon père, et, Ma mère, on emportera la puissance de Damas et le butin de Samarie devant le roi d’Assyrie.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn ehe der Knabe zu rufen weiß "mein Vater" und "meine Mutter", wird man vor dem König von Assyrien hertragen den Reichtum von Damaskus und die Beute von Samaria.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		quia antequam sciat puer vocare patrem suum et matrem suam, auferetur fortitudo Damasci, et spolia Samariæ, coram rege Assyriorum.