Isaiah 31:9
New International Version
Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

New Living Translation
Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,” says the LORD, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.

English Standard Version
His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Berean Standard Bible
Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

King James Bible
And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

New King James Version
He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the LORD, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

New American Standard Bible
“His rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the flag,” Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

NASB 1995
“His rock will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the standard,” Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

NASB 1977
“And his rock will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the standard,” Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Legacy Standard Bible
“His rock will pass away because of terror, And his princes will be dismayed at the standard,” Declares Yahweh, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Amplified Bible
“His rock [his stronghold] will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the [sight of the battle] standard,” Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Christian Standard Bible
His rock will pass away because of fear, and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag. This is the LORD’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
His rock will pass away because of fear, and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag. This is the LORD’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

American Standard Version
And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Contemporary English Version
Their fortress will fall when terror strikes; their army officers will be frightened and run from the battle. This is what the LORD has said, the LORD whose fiery furnace is built on Mount Zion.

English Revised Version
And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
In terror they will run to their stronghold, and their officers will be frightened at [the sight of] the battle flag. The LORD declares this. His fire is in Zion and his furnace is in Jerusalem.

Good News Translation
Their emperor will run away in terror, and the officers will be so frightened that they will abandon their battle flags." The LORD has spoken--the LORD who is worshiped in Jerusalem and whose fire burns there for sacrifices.

International Standard Version
Their stronghold will vanish by reason of terror, and their commanders will be filled with alarm because of the battle standard," declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Majority Standard Bible
Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

NET Bible
They will surrender their stronghold because of fear; their officers will be afraid of the LORD's battle flag." This is what the LORD says--the one whose fire is in Zion, whose firepot is in Jerusalem.

New Heart English Bible
His rock will pass away by reason of terror, and his officers will be afraid of the banner," says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

World English Bible
His rock will pass away by reason of terror, and his princes will be afraid of the banner,” says Yahweh, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And he passes on [to] his rock from fear, "" And his princes have been frightened by the ensign—a declaration of YHWH, "" Who has a light in Zion, "" And who has a furnace in Jerusalem!

Young's Literal Translation
And to his rock from fear he passeth on, And affrighted by the ensign have been his princes -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Who hath a light in Zion, And who hath a furnace in Jerusalem!

Smith's Literal Translation
And his rock shall pass through from fear, and his chiefs were terrified from the signal, says Jehovah whose light to him in Zion, and furnace to him in Jerusalem.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And his strength shall pass away with dread, and his princes fleeing shall be afraid: the Lord hath said it, whose die is in Sion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And his strength will pass away in terror, and his princes will flee in fear. The Lord has said it. His fire is in Zion, and his furnace is at Jerusalem.

New American Bible
He shall rush past his crag in panic, and his princes desert the standard in terror, Says the LORD who has a fire in Zion and a furnace in Jerusalem.

New Revised Standard Version
His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,” says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And he shall dwell in his rocky habitation, and his princes shall be defeated from before the standard, says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he shall leave the cliffs of his dwelling and they shall be defeated before the standards of his Princes, says LORD JEHOVAH, whose fire is in Zion and his furnace in Jerusalem
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, And his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, Saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, And His furnace in Jerusalem.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
for they shall be compassed with rocks as with a trench, and shall be worsted; and he that flees shall be taken. Thus saith the Lord, Blesses is he that has a seed in Sion, and household friends in Jerusalem.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
8“Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. 9Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Cross References
Isaiah 30:31-33
For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter. / And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished. / For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.

Isaiah 10:16-19
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame. / And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles. / The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man. ...

Isaiah 37:36-38
Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies! / So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. / One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

Isaiah 10:33-34
Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled. / He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

Isaiah 14:25
I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”

Isaiah 30:28
His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.

Isaiah 8:9-10
Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered! / Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

Isaiah 17:13-14
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale. / In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.

Isaiah 29:5-8
But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, / you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire. / All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night, ...

Isaiah 33:3
The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.

Isaiah 9:4
For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.

Isaiah 31:4-5
For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights. / Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”

Isaiah 13:6-8
Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty. / Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. / Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.

Isaiah 2:12
For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—

Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.


Treasury of Scripture

And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, said the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

the ensign

Isaiah 11:10
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Isaiah 18:3
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

whose fire

Isaiah 44:1
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:

Isaiah 29:6
Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

Leviticus 6:13
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

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Afraid Altar Banner Battle Chiefs Commanders Desert Dismayed Ensign Fall Fear Fire Flag Flight Furnace Hold Jerusalem Officers Panic Princes Reason Rock Sight Standard Strong Stronghold Terrified Terror Zion
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Isaiah 31
1. The prophet shows the folly and danger of trusting Egypt, and forsaking God
6. He exhorts to conversion
8. He shows the fall of Assyria














Their rock will pass away in terror
The phrase "Their rock" refers to the false sense of security and strength that the people of Judah had placed in their alliances and military might, rather than in God. In Hebrew, the word for "rock" is "tsur," often used metaphorically in the Bible to denote a source of strength or refuge. Historically, the people of Judah had sought protection from Assyrian threats through alliances with Egypt, which God viewed as a misplaced trust. The "rock" they relied on would "pass away in terror," indicating that their false securities would crumble in the face of divine judgment. This serves as a reminder that only God is the true and unshakeable rock, a theme echoed throughout Scripture (e.g., Psalm 18:2).

and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard
The "princes" here are the leaders of Judah, who were responsible for guiding the nation. The Hebrew word for "princes" is "sarim," which can also mean rulers or officials. These leaders, who had placed their confidence in human alliances, would "panic" when confronted with the reality of God's judgment. The "battle standard" symbolizes the impending judgment and the presence of God's power in battle. Historically, battle standards were used to rally troops and signify the presence of an army. The sight of this standard would cause fear and confusion among the leaders, highlighting their vulnerability without God's protection.

declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem
This declaration by "the LORD" emphasizes the authority and certainty of the prophecy. The imagery of "fire" and "furnace" in "Zion" and "Jerusalem" is rich with meaning. In Hebrew, "fire" (esh) often symbolizes God's presence, judgment, and purification. Zion, representing the spiritual heart of Israel, and Jerusalem, the political and religious center, are depicted as places where God's refining fire resides. The "furnace" suggests a process of purification and judgment, where impurities are burned away. This imagery reassures the faithful that God is actively working within His chosen city, both to purify His people and to execute judgment on those who oppose His will. It serves as a powerful reminder of God's sovereignty and His commitment to His covenant people.

(9) He shall pass over to his strong hold for fear.--Most recent critics translate, His rock will pass away for terror, the "rock" (not the same word, however, as that elsewhere, e.g., Deuteronomy 32:31, used for God) being the symbol of Assyria's strength. The laws of parallelism point to our taking the noun as the subject of the sentence, corresponding to "princes" in the next clause, and so exclude the Authorised version.

Whose fire is in Zion.--Fire, as the symbol of the Divine glory, giving light and warmth to the faithful, and burning up the evil. (Comp. Isaiah 10:16-17.)

Verse 9. - And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear; rather, and his Rock shall pass away for fear (marginal rendering). It is generally agreed by recent commentators (Kay, Delitzsch, Cheyne), that the rock intended, which is contrasted with the "princes" of the next clause, is Assyria's king (see the contrast of the king, who is "a great rock," and his princes, in Isaiah 32:1, 2). (On the hurried flight of Sennacherib to Nineveh, see below, Isaiah 37:37.) His princes shall be afraid of the ensign. The word nes, ensign, seems to be here used collectively. The Assyrian princes would tremble at every signal that they saw displayed along their line of route, expecting some enemy to fall upon them. His furnace. Jehovah was at once a Light to his people, and "a consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12:29) to his enemies. His presence, indicated by the Shechinah in the holy of holies, was at once for blessing and for burning.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Their rock
וְסַלְעוֹ֙ (wə·sal·‘ōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5553: A craggy rock

will pass away
יַֽעֲב֔וֹר (ya·‘ă·ḇō·wr)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

for fear,
מִמָּג֣וֹר (mim·mā·ḡō·wr)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4032: Fear, terror

and their princes
שָׂרָ֑יו (śā·rāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince

will panic
וְחַתּ֥וּ (wə·ḥat·tū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2865: To prostrate, to break down, either, by violence, by confusion and fear

at the sight of the battle standard,”
מִנֵּ֖ס (min·nês)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5251: A flag, a sail, a flagstaff, a signal, a token

declares
נְאֻם־ (nə·’um-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5002: An oracle

the LORD,
יְהוָ֗ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3069: YHWH

whose
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

fire
א֥וּר (’ūr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 217: Flame, the East

is in Zion,
בְּצִיּ֔וֹן (bə·ṣî·yō·wn)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6726: Zion -- a mountain in Jerusalem, also a name for Jerusalem

whose furnace
וְתַנּ֥וּר (wə·ṯan·nūr)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - common singular
Strong's 8574: (portable) stove, firepot

is in Jerusalem.
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ (bî·rū·šā·lim)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 31:9 His rock will pass away by reason (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 31:8
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