Isaiah 7:18

Translations

Modern

On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.

Traditional

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

Literal

And it will come to pass in that day, that YHWH will whistle for the fly that is at the farthest of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

Latin

Et erit in die illa: sibilabit Dominus muscæ quæ est in extremo fluminum Ægypti, et api quæ est in terra Assur;

Original

Hebrew

English

On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.

Notes

Isaiah 7:18–25

The phrase on that day refers to the future Day of the LORD, when God acts to judge and to save.

Judah would first experience the judgment Isaiah had announced. This would be a warning of a greater judgment still to come. That greater judgment was the exile in Babylon from 586 to 538 BC.

Isaiah 7:1–25

At one point in his reign, Ahaz faced a serious crisis. The kings of Syria and Israel attacked Judah. They planned to remove Ahaz and force Judah to join them in resisting Assyria.

Instead of trusting the Lord, Ahaz asked Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7–10). By doing this, he rejected Isaiah’s call to trust in God (Isaiah 7:12).

The Assyrians defeated Syria and Israel. In time, both nations fell. However, Assyria later turned against Judah and sought to control it completely.

Isaiah 7:1–12:6

These prophecies occurred when Assyria rose to power. Syria and Israel formed an alliance against Judah (Isaiah 7:1–2; see 2 Kings 16:5). God used Assyria as a tool to punish Syria, Israel, and Judah (Isaiah 7–10).

Theme notes and profiles

Ahaz Isaiah Fearing People Salvation in Isaiah

Events

Prophecies of Isaiah

Related verses

Isaiah 5:26
He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
Deuteronomy 7:20
Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
Deuteronomy 1:44
Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
Joshua 24:12
I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
2 Kings 23:33–34
And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned Jehoahaz at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he could not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Isaiah 13:5
They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country.
Psalm 118:12
They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
Exodus 8:24
And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.
Exodus 8:21
But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.
Isaiah 7:17
The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.”
Isaiah 30:1–2
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.

Parallels

Micah 1:1–7

Places

Assyria: A powerful ancient empire, often in conflict with Israel Egypt: Ancient nation; Israelites enslaved there; plagues and Exodus

Glossary

Ahaz (King) Bee Deborah Fly Isaiah, Book of Nile River

Topics

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Prophecies Concerning Armies: Compared to Flies Assyria: As a Power, Was: An Instrument of God's Vengeance Assyria: Predictions Respecting: Invasion of Judah By Assyria: Prophecies Concerning Bee in Palestine Bee: Called by Hissing Flies: Figurative Hypocrisy: Ahaz Insects: Bee Insects: Fly Isaiah: Prophecies, Reproofs, and Exhortations of Denounces Calamities Against Israel and Judah Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of War and Other Judgments Whistling

Isaiah 7:18

Translations?

Original?

Notes?

Events?

Related verses?

Parallels?