Isaiah 14:31
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; you, whole Palestina, are dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; you, whole Palestina, are dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Send out a cry, O door! Make sounds of sorrow, O town! All your land has come to nothing, O Philistia; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and everyone keeps his place in the line.
Webster's Revision
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, all Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
World English Bible
Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and none standeth aloof at his appointed times.
Definitions for Isaiah 14:31
Clarke's Isaiah 14:31 Bible Commentary
There shall come from the north a smoke "From the north cometh a smoke" - That is, a cloud of dust raised by the march of Hezekiah's army against Philistia; which lay to the south-west from Jerusalem. A great dust raised has, at a distance, the appearance of smoke: Fumantes pulvere campi; "The fields smoking with dust." - Virg. Aen. 11:908.
Barnes's Isaiah 14:31 Bible Commentary
Howl, O gate - That is, ye who throng the gate. The gates of a city were the chief places of concourse.
Cry, O city - The prophet here fixes the attention upon some principal city of Philistia, and calls upon it to be alarmed in view of the judgments that were about to come upon the whole land.
Art dissolved - The word 'dissolved' (מוג mûg) is applied to that which melts, or which wastes away gradually, and then to that which faints or disappears. It means here that the kingdom of Philistia would disappear, or be destroyed. It probably conveys the idea of its fainting, or becoming feeble from fear or apprehension.
From the north a smoke - From the regions of Judah, which lay north and east of Philistia. The 'smoke' here probably refers to a cloud of dust that would be seen to rise in that direction made by an invading army.
And none shall be alone in his appointed times - There has been a great variety of interpretation in regard to this passage. Lowth renders it, 'And there shall not be a straggler among his levies.' The Hebrew is, as in the margin, 'And not solitary in his assemblies.' The Septuagint renders it, Καί οὐκ ἔσται τοῦ εῖναι Kai ouk estai tou einai - 'And it is not to be endured.' The Chaldee, 'And there shall be none who shall retard him in his times.' The Arabic, 'Neither is there anyone who can stand in his footsteps.' The Vulgate, 'Neither is there anyone who can escape his army.' Aben Ezra renders it, 'No one of the Philistines shall dare to remain in their palaces, as when a smoke comes into a house all are driven out.' Probably the correct idea is given by Lowth; and the same interpretation is given by Gesenius, Rosenmuller, Dathe, and Michaelis. No one of the invading army of Hezekiah shall come by himself; no one shall be weary or be a straggler; the army shall advance in close military array, and in dense columns; and this is represented as the cause of the cloud or smoke that the prophet saw rising, the cloud of dust that was made by the close ranks of the invading host (compare Isaiah 5:27).
Wesley's Isaiah 14:31 Bible Commentary
14:31 Gate - The gate is put for the city. City - City is here put collectively for their cities. The north - From Chaldea.A smoak - A grievous judgment and calamity. Times - When God's appointed time shall come, not one of all that numerous army shall desert his colours, or lag behind the rest.
