Isaiah 7:20
New International Version
In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.

New Living Translation
In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.

English Standard Version
In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

Berean Standard Bible
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.

King James Bible
In the same day shall the Lord shave with a rasor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

New King James Version
In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard.

New American Standard Bible
On that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates River (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

NASB 1995
In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

NASB 1977
In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

Legacy Standard Bible
In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor—one hired from regions beyond the River (that is, the king of Assyria)—the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

Amplified Bible
In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned].

Christian Standard Bible
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria —to shave the hair on your heads, the hair on your legs, and even your beards.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave the head, the hair on the legs, and to remove the beard as well.

American Standard Version
In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord will pay the king of Assyria to bring a razor from across the Euphrates River and shave your head and every hair on your body, including your beard.

English Revised Version
In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, which is in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"On that day the Lord will hire the king of Assyria from beyond the Euphrates River to be a razor to shave the hair on your head, the hair on your legs, and even your beard.

Good News Translation
"When that time comes, the Lord will hire a barber from across the Euphrates--the emperor of Assyria!--and he will shave off your beards and the hair on your heads and your bodies.

International Standard Version
At that time, the LORD will hire a barber to come from beyond the Euphrates River—that is, the king of Assyria—and he will shave your heads, your leg hair, and your beards, too.

Majority Standard Bible
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.

NET Bible
At that time the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; it will also shave off the beard.

New Heart English Bible
In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

Webster's Bible Translation
In the same day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

World English Bible
In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
In that day the Lord shaves, "" By a razor that is hired beyond the river, "" By the king of Asshur, "" The head, and the hair of the feet, "" Indeed, it also consumes the beard.

Young's Literal Translation
In that day doth the Lord shave, By a razor that is hired beyond the river, By the king of Asshur, The head, and the hair of the feet, Yea, also the beard it consumeth.

Smith's Literal Translation
In that day shall Jehovah shave with a hired razor by those beyond the river, by the king of Assur, the head and the hair of the feet: and it also shall scrape off the beard.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
In that day the Lord shall shave with a razor that is hired by them that are beyond the river, by the king of the Assyrians, the head and the hairs of the feet, and the whole beard.

Catholic Public Domain Version
In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor the ones hired by those who are across the river, by the king of the Assyrians, from the head to the hairs of the feet, with the entire beard.

New American Bible
On that day the Lord shall shave with the razor hired from across the River (the king of Assyria) the head, and the hair of the feet; it shall also shave off the beard.

New Revised Standard Version
On that day the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
On that day shall the LORD shave with a sharp razor the region that is beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and he shall also shave off the beard.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
In that day LORD JEHOVAH shall shave a drunkard with a razor at the crossing of the river with the King of Assyria, from his head and unto the hair of his feet, also he will remove his beard
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also sweep away the beard.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
In that day the Lord shall shave with the hired razor of the king of Assyria beyond the river the head, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove the beard.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Judgment to Come
19And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes and watering holes. 20On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates— the king of Assyria— to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well. 21On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,…

Cross References
2 Kings 18:13-16
In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah. / So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.” And the king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. / Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. ...

2 Chronicles 28:20-21
Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him. / Although Ahaz had taken a portion from the house of the LORD, from the royal palace, and from the princes and had presented it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

Isaiah 8:7-8
the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks. / It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!

Isaiah 10:5-6
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. / I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

Isaiah 36:1
In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

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.

Jeremiah 46:20
Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.

Ezekiel 5:1-2
“As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair. / When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind. For I will unleash a sword behind them.

Hosea 7:11-12
So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria. / As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together.

Hosea 10:6
Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.

Micah 1:16
Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.

Matthew 24:15-16
So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), / then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Luke 21:20-22
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. / Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. / For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.

John 11:48
If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

Acts 13:40-41
Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you: / ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”


Treasury of Scripture

In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

shave

Isaiah 10:6
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.

2 Kings 16:7,8
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me…

2 Chronicles 28:20,21
And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not…

head

Isaiah 1:5
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 9:14-17
Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day…

Isaiah 24:2
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

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Assyria Beard Beards Blade Consume Euphrates Face Feet Hair Head Hired Legs Namely Parts Price Razor Regions Remove River Shave Sweep
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Assyria Beard Beards Blade Consume Euphrates Face Feet Hair Head Hired Legs Namely Parts Price Razor Regions Remove River Shave Sweep
Isaiah 7
1. Ahaz, being troubled with fear of Rezin and Pekah, is comforted by Isaiah
10. Ahaz, having liberty to choose a sign, and refusing it, has for a sign, Christ promised
17. His judgment is prophesied to come by Assyria














On that day
This phrase signifies a specific time of divine intervention or judgment. In the prophetic literature of the Bible, "that day" often refers to a moment when God acts decisively in history. Here, it indicates a future event when God's judgment will be executed. The use of "day" in Hebrew (יוֹם, yom) can denote a literal day or a period of time, emphasizing the certainty and imminence of God's action.

the Lord
The term "the Lord" (יְהוָה, Yahweh) is the covenant name of God, highlighting His sovereignty and faithfulness. In this context, it underscores that the coming judgment is not random but orchestrated by the sovereign will of God. It reminds the reader of God's ultimate authority over nations and history.

will use a razor
The imagery of a "razor" (תַּעַר, ta'ar) is symbolic of humiliation and disgrace. In ancient Near Eastern culture, shaving was often associated with shame or mourning. The razor here is a metaphor for the thorough and humiliating judgment that God will bring upon His people through foreign powers. It conveys the idea of complete exposure and vulnerability.

hired from beyond the Euphrates River
This phrase refers to the Assyrian empire, which lay beyond the Euphrates River. The term "hired" suggests that God is employing Assyria as an instrument of His judgment, even though they are a pagan nation. This highlights God's sovereignty over all nations, using them to fulfill His purposes, whether they acknowledge Him or not.

the king of Assyria
The "king of Assyria" represents the powerful and feared empire that would become an instrument of God's judgment against Israel and Judah. Historically, Assyria was known for its military might and brutality. This reference serves as a warning of the severe consequences of turning away from God and relying on foreign alliances instead of trusting in Him.

to shave your head and the hair of your legs
Shaving the "head" and "hair of your legs" symbolizes total humiliation and subjugation. In the ancient world, hair was often a symbol of strength and honor. The act of shaving it off signifies the stripping away of dignity and power. This imagery conveys the depth of the coming judgment and the complete loss of autonomy and pride for the people.

and to remove your beard as well
The removal of the "beard" further emphasizes disgrace and dishonor. In many ancient cultures, a beard was a sign of manhood and respect. To have it removed forcibly was a profound humiliation. This completes the picture of total degradation that the people would experience as a result of their disobedience and lack of faith in God.

(20) Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired.--Better, "with the razor." The words find a parallel in the "made him naked" of 2Chronicles 28:19. The term "hired" applies to the tribute which Ahaz was about to pay to Tilgath-pilneser. He thought that he was securing an ally: he was but hiring a razor (there is, perhaps, the implied thought that the razor is in other hands than his) that should sweep away all the signs of strength, and leave him an open shame and scorn to all who looked on him. (2Samuel 10:4). From head to foot, not sparing even the beard, to maltreat which was the last extreme of Oriental outrage, he and his kingdom should be laid bare and naked to his enemies. Possibly there may be an allusive reference (Kay) to Leviticus 14:9. The nation, leprous in its guilt (Isaiah 1:6), needs the treatment which was prescribed for the leper.

(21:22) A man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep . . .--Better, two ewes. Not only should cultivation cease, but the flocks and herds that had before been counted by hundreds or thousands should be counted now by units, two ewes and a heifer for a man's whole stock, and yet (we note the prophet's irony once more in the use of the word "abundance") even that should be enough for a population reduced in proportion. There should be "milk and honey" for the scattered remnant. They should have that, and nothing but that, to eat, ad nauseam usque. The words are grouped together with a grim irony as reminding men of the proverbial words of praise which spoke of Canaan as "a land of milk and honey" (Exodus 3:17). . . .

Verse 20. - Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired; rather, with the hired razor; i.e. the razor that Ahaz will have hired (2 Kings 16:8). The metaphor well expresses the stripping of the land bare by plunder and exaction (comp. Ezekiel 5:1, 12, and 2 Chronicles 28:19-21). God would use Tiglath-Pileser as his instrument to distress Ahaz. By them beyond the river; or, in the parts beyond the river (comp. 1 Chronicles 19:16). "The river" is undoubtedly the Euphrates, and they who dwell beyond it the Assyrians. By the King of Assyria. Once more a gloss is suspected, as in ver. 17. The meaning would certainly be sufficiently plain without the clause. The head... the hair of the feet... the beard. These three represent all the hair on any part of the body. Judah is to be completely stripped.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
On that
הַה֡וּא (ha·hū)
Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

day
בַּיּ֣וֹם (bay·yō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

the Lord
אֲדֹנָי֩ (’ă·ḏō·nāy)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 136: The Lord

will use a razor
בְּתַ֨עַר (bə·ṯa·‘ar)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8593: A knife, razor, a scabbard

hired
הַשְּׂכִירָ֜ה (haś·śə·ḵî·rāh)
Article | Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7917: That is hired

from beyond
בְּעֶבְרֵ֤י (bə·‘eḇ·rê)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5676: A region across, on the opposite side

the Euphrates—
נָהָר֙ (nā·hār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5104: A stream, prosperity

the king
בְּמֶ֣לֶךְ (bə·me·leḵ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Assyria—
אַשּׁ֔וּר (’aš·šūr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 804: Ashshur

to shave
יְגַלַּ֣ח (yə·ḡal·laḥ)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1548: To be bald, to shave, to lay waste

your head
הָרֹ֖אשׁ (hā·rōš)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7218: The head

and the hair
וְשַׂ֣עַר (wə·śa·‘ar)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8181: Hair

of your legs,
הָרַגְלָ֑יִם (hā·raḡ·lā·yim)
Article | Noun - fd
Strong's 7272: A foot, a step, the pudenda

and to remove
תִּסְפֶּֽה׃ (tis·peh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5595: To sweep or snatch away, catch up

your beard
הַזָּקָ֖ן (haz·zā·qān)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 2206: Beard, chin

as well.
וְגַ֥ם (wə·ḡam)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 7:20 In that day the Lord will shave (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 7:19
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