Isaiah 1:20
New International Version
but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

New Living Translation
But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

English Standard Version
but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Berean Standard Bible
But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

King James Bible
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

New King James Version
But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

New American Standard Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

NASB 1995
“But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

NASB 1977
“But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Legacy Standard Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, You will be eaten by the sword.” For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.

Amplified Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Christian Standard Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

American Standard Version
but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Contemporary English Version
But if you turn against me, your enemies will kill you. I, the LORD, have spoken.

English Revised Version
but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But if you refuse and rebel, you will be destroyed by swords." The LORD has spoken.

Good News Translation
But if you defy me, you are doomed to die. I, the LORD, have spoken."

International Standard Version
but if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword, because the LORD has spoken."

Majority Standard Bible
But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

NET Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Know for certain that the LORD has spoken.

New Heart English Bible
but if you refuse and rebel, the sword shall devour you; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it."

Webster's Bible Translation
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

World English Bible
but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured with the sword; for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And if you refuse, and have rebelled, "" You are consumed [by] the sword,” "" For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.

Young's Literal Translation
And if ye refuse, and have rebelled, By the sword ye are consumed, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.

Smith's Literal Translation
And if ye shall refuse and rebel, ye shall be eaten by the sword: for the mouth of Jehovah spake.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if you will not, and will provoke me to wrath: the sword shall devour you because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But if you are not willing, and you provoke me to anger, then the sword will devour you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

New American Bible
But if you refuse and resist, you shall be eaten by the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

New Revised Standard Version
but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And if you will not obey and you will contend, by the sword you shall be consumed. The mouth of LORD JEHOVAH has spoken
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
But if ye refuse and rebel, Ye shall be devoured with the sword; For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
but if ye be not willing, nor hearken to me, a sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Meaningless Offerings
19If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land. 20But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Cross References
Deuteronomy 30:17-18
But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, / I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Jeremiah 7:23-24
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you. / Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

Proverbs 1:24-31
Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand, / because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction, / in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you, ...

Ezekiel 18:24
But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

2 Kings 17:13-14
Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.” / But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

Zechariah 7:11-13
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. / They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. / And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.

Amos 3:1-2
Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: / “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

Jeremiah 11:7-8
For from the time I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, I strongly warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’ / Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.”

2 Chronicles 36:15-16
Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place. / But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.

Matthew 7:26-27
But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. / The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

Romans 2:8-9
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. / There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;

Hebrews 10:26-27
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, / but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. / They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,


Treasury of Scripture

But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

if ye refuse

Isaiah 3:11
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

1 Samuel 12:25
But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

2 Chronicles 36:14-16
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem…

for the mouth

Isaiah 40:5
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 58:14
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Leviticus 26:33
And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

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Consumed Destruction Devoured Hearts Mouth Rebel Rebelled Refuse Resist Sword Turned
Isaiah 1
1. Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5. He laments her judgments
10. He upbraids their whole service
16. He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21. Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25. He promises grace
28. And threatens destruction to the wicked














But if you refuse and rebel
The phrase begins with a conditional "but if," indicating a choice and consequence. The Hebrew word for "refuse" is "מָאֵן" (ma'en), which implies a deliberate rejection or unwillingness to comply. This refusal is not passive but an active decision against God's will. "Rebel" comes from the Hebrew "מָרָה" (marah), meaning to be contentious or disobedient. Historically, Israel's rebellion is a recurring theme, reflecting their turning away from God's commandments and covenant. This phrase serves as a warning, emphasizing the seriousness of rejecting God's authority and the covenant relationship He established with His people.

you will be devoured by the sword
The imagery of being "devoured by the sword" is stark and vivid. The Hebrew word for "devoured" is "אָכַל" (akal), which means to consume or destroy. The "sword" symbolizes war, judgment, and divine retribution. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the sword was a common instrument of warfare and execution, representing the ultimate consequence of rebellion. This phrase underscores the severity of divine judgment that awaits those who persist in disobedience. It serves as a prophetic warning to the Israelites, reminding them of the tangible and dire consequences of their actions.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken
This phrase asserts the authority and certainty of the message. The "mouth of the LORD" is a metaphor for God's direct communication, emphasizing that these are not mere human words but divine pronouncements. The Hebrew word for "spoken" is "דִּבֵּר" (diber), which conveys the idea of declaring or commanding. In the biblical context, when God speaks, it is both a revelation of His will and a guarantee of its fulfillment. This closing statement reinforces the inevitability of the prophesied outcome, as it is backed by the unchanging and sovereign word of God. It serves as a reminder of God's ultimate authority and the trustworthiness of His promises and warnings.

Verse 20. - If ye refuse and rebel; i.e. "if ye neither consent in will, nor obey in act, "antithetical to the two verbs in the first clause of ver. 19. Ye shall be devoured; or, ye shall be eaten. The same verb as in the latter clause of ver. 19. With the sword. The metaphor is not a common one, but occurs in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:30; Jeremiah 12:12; Jeremiah 46:10, 14) and Nahum (Nahum 2:13). The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. A weighty ending, indicating the certainty of fulfillment, Jehovah, who cannot lie, has spoken; the result will assuredly follow.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But if
וְאִם־ (wə·’im-)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

you resist
תְּמָאֲנ֖וּ (tə·mā·’ă·nū)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 3985: To refuse

and rebel,
וּמְרִיתֶ֑ם (ū·mə·rî·ṯem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 4784: To be contentious or rebellious

you will be devoured
תְּאֻכְּל֔וּ (tə·’uk·kə·lū)
Verb - QalPass - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 398: To eat

by the sword.”
חֶ֣רֶב (ḥe·reḇ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

For
כִּ֛י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the mouth
פִּ֥י (pî)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

of the LORD
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

has spoken.
דִּבֵּֽר׃ (dib·bêr)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 1:20 But if you refuse and rebel you (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 1:19
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